Fredericton education council considering merging four schools into two

Four Fredericton schools on chopping block District Education Council votes to close them and replace them with two new ones. Laura Brown reports.

Four Fredericton-area schools are on the chopping block after a district education council voted to close them.

After months of meetings and research, Anglophone west school district's education council decided last week to replace the four smaller schools with two bigger schools.

It would mean merging two schools on Fredericton's south side -- Liverpool Street, which has 323 students, with Forest Hill, and its 126 students. It would also merge two on Fredericton's north side - McAdam Avenue, which has 66 students, with Nashwaaksis Memorial's 351 students.

Aging infrastructure and overcrowding is the main reason, but for McAdam Avenue, there are too few students.

“I like this school because I've gone here since kindergarten, and it's close to my house so I don't have to take the bus,” said one student at McAdam Avenue.

Parents and students at McAdam Avenue have been the most vocal, saying they like that the school is small.

“The children are all getting one on one attention, it's family friendly, it's a close-knit community,” said Amy Fernandes, a parent of two McAdam Avenue students and a member of the parents council.

But some parents say they're also open to adding more students, from Nashwaaksis Memorial, in order to keep the school open. They say the province can't afford to build more schools right now.

“They have overcrowding and we have under-utilization,” said Helga Rennke, a parent and chair of the home and school committee. “So how do we make it so that it's financially responsible for our province? I think that's important and I don’t think they're paying enough attention to that because the new school is $35 million.”

Several parents at the other schools were pleased at the thought of a new school.

CTV News requested an interview with the education minister, but was simply sent a statement, saying the minister hasn't received any notice from the council regarding these schools yet.

According to the policy, once he receives notice, he has 30 to 60 days to respond to the recommendation.

Last week, Dominic Cardy did mention he intends to do a review on school closures in the province.

“We had a platform commitment to look at reforming that system so we're going to come out with a report in the next little while on that,” Cardy said on Jan. 29.

Cardy said he plans to have some of that review done before an education summit planned for May.

“We are in limbo because until he says, okay you followed due process, and then somebody has to decide if the school will close, and when,” Rennke said.

Some parents say they'd like more information, so that they can prepare for whatever the future holds for McAdam Avenue.

There are parents that are excited at the idea of new schools, but in December, the Conservative government's capital budget cancelled the planning for new schools in Moncton and in Campbellton. A school is being planned for Hanwell.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.