Asked for the logic behind the board’s April 20 decision while at a Maple Grove SAC meeting on April 26, board member Joan Brewer pointed to the issue of declining enrolment in part of her response.
In a report from board staff that was prepared for school board members for consideration at their April 20 meeting, the issue of declining enrolment was also raised. Should the status quo remain at Maple Grove the report said – a 7-9 school with no early French immersion program – it would experience a significant enrolment decline. It was estimated the population could fall from the present 472 students to approximately 354 by the school year 2014-15.
Drops in student enrolment result in cuts to teaching staff.
“Will the school be able to continue offering its present programs?” questions the report.
Although the voted-upon reconfiguration of both schools is not a discussion that had been taking place recently around the board table during its regular monthly meetings, the issue of reconfiguration of the two schools is one that was studied back in 2005 during a school boundaries review process.
Back then the very suggestion of making Maple Grove a Grade 7-8 school and Yarmouth Junior High a Grade 9 school is one that was put to the public for consultation. The board went so far as to suggest this realignment happen in the 2006/07 school year.
Of course back then a new high school was not part of the equation – which plays a big factor in the board's decision this around.
But the same concerns being raised today by those against the idea were raised back then by the public, and even some school board members. This included concerns of busing and the associated cost, access to lunch programs, the impact on sports teams, the hardship to families living in town who don’t have access to vehicles during the school day, if needed, and moving students between several schools over a short period of time.
Board member Winnie Surette, at the time, was opposed to the change, saying she didn’t think it would benefit students, nor would it be cost effective.
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“Your town students are going to be traveling longer because now they walk to school, the majority of them,” she said in the fall of 2005. “They’re able to go home at noon for lunch. If they go to Maple Grove they’re not going to be able to do that. They are going to have to buy lunch.
“I see some disadvantages to this for town students if we take them out of the town area for two years and bring them back,” she added.
Eventually the board backed away from the idea of reconfiguring the grade levels at the schools. It passed a motion to abandon the idea at a December 2005 meeting, deciding there were more cons than pros to changing the schools.
“People had a lot of concerns and justified concerns,” said board member Surette. “It was causing a lot of heartache and grief for a lot of parents and the kids.”
At the time school board superintendent Phil Landry said the message coming back to the board was it was not living up to its motto – Students First. In addition to this, the board said it would have cost an extra $39,000 in busing.
“Another concern was bringing all the Grade 9s to one school for one year, it’s difficult for staff to establish relationships and rapport with students,” Landry had also said.
So what’s changed this time around?
Greater declines in student enrolment, for one, and the construction of a new high school that will house students in Grades 9-12, so Grade 9 students won’t be in a school by themselves forever.
As for why else the board thinks now is a good time to go ahead with a reconfiguration, that is a question many people will likely be posing to the board when they attend the board’s next monthly meeting on May 4.
