Lester B. Pearson: Dwindling enrollment and budget cuts lead board to consider changes

Student population at Lester B. Pearson School Board schools, based in Dorval, has declined 12 per cent between 2009 and 2014. They’ve also faced cuts totaling $10.5-M for the 2015-16 school year, according to documents on the school board’s website. That’s why it launched a Major School Change consultation process where 63 groups submitted ideas for the school board’s future.

French language instruction, school rentals and transportation were some of the major themes when 23 school and advisory committees participated in the public hearings last week.

“When we looked around at our schools and saw more and more of them were around the 50 per cent occupied, we needed to address that,” said Lester B. Pearson School Board chair, Sueann Stein Day.

At the same time, the government could have considered policy change that would remove maintenance funding from schools at less than 50 per cent capacity, she said.

“The intention from the government is clear: if you have schools less than half full, they don’t want to invest in upkeep. Frankly, we felt the same way,” she said. “We don’t want to spend our shrinking dollars on bricks and mortars when we can spend them on classrooms.”

Cultural education

“Some of our schools have asked for more French,” said Stein Day. “If that’s what a community wants, we see no objection to it whatsoever.”

“Beaconsfield’s Beacon Hill Elementary proposed a pilot project that would have students learning nine weeks in French and nine weeks in English, with an emphasis not only on French language, but culture.

“I think the quality [of French education] is quite good but we want to offer something new,” said Celena Sheede-Bergdhal, a parent of three and chair of Beacon Hill Elementary’s committee for the consultation.

Scheede-Bergdhal grew up in the West Island and was shocked when she moved downtown. “I wasn’t familiar with the movies, music, personalities, humour . . . I felt like I was lacking a lot of references,” she explained.

Darren Kotania, who chairs the Central Parents Committee, believes that Lester B students leave school prepared for a future in Quebec, but admits there is always room for improvement. “I don’t think we can ever say we reached our goal. Every child has a need and some children can grasp a new language very quickly.”

Kotania underlined an emphasis on global education. “On the French side there are parents who are concerned about their children not obtaining enough English language instruction,” he said. “Collaboration is always a good thing.”

With about 10 schools around 50 per cent capacity, many participants suggested sharing space with overcrowded French schools, though there are no plans for a merger yet.

In the event of school closures the buildings would be offered to French schools first, said Stein Day.

Certainties and uncertainty

While nothing is decided yet, Stein Day admits that closures are a possibility. Repurposing closed schools for vocational and adult education would be a priority, as per their mandate.

Rezoning where the school board’s on island territory meets off island, which has been adjusted in the past, is also possible.

Many groups talked about renting school space, which already takes place off-hours in some buildings, at cost. “It’s not a solution,” said Stein Day. “That space is considered empty when the ministry looks because we need to use it for education. We continue to do it to add value to our communities.”

Transportation, another recurring issue at the consultations, will definitely be revised, according to Stein Day. “We’re overdue to review the network again. No question.”

No conclusions will be drawn until the information is reviewed by the administration. The recommendations, that will be workshopped between council and administration, should be finalised by Dec. 14.

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