Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board News Release ******************** At its regular Board meeting of Tuesday, March 31, 2009, the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board approved the recommendation of the Accommodation
Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board News Release
********************
At its regular Board meeting of Tuesday, March 31, 2009, the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board approved the recommendation of the Accommodation Review Committee which proposes that St. Joseph and Sacred Heart Schools be consolidated, that a new school facility be built within the consolidated zone and that the two schools, as they currently exist, be closed.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I extend many thanks to the Accommodation Review Committee and Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board staff,” said Jacques Bégin, Chair of the Board. “The Accommodation Review Committee is to be commended for its careful consideration of the accommodations options for these two schools. This process provided several opportunities for public input and community consultation. We look forward to next steps as we engage these two school communities in the consolidation process.”
St. Joseph and Sacred Heart Schools, both deemed prohibitive to repair, have been experiencing significantly low enrolment and operate at expenditure levels beyond the funding guidelines. Currently, St. Joseph School is at 21.9 per cent of capacity while Sacred Heart School is at 37.7 per cent. The schools, located within less than four kilometres apart from each other, offer JK to Grade 8 Early French Immersion programs.
In making the recommendation to the Board, the Accommodation Review Committee and Senior Administration have identified a number of benefits and positive long-term results from the consolidation of the two schools, which include the following:
• Consolidation into a new facility utilizes the opportunity of prohibitive to repair funding, announced in November 2008, to good advantage and provides an enhanced educational context for these two school communities in the long term;
• Consolidating St. Joseph and Sacred Heart would maintain the integrity of the program offering (JK to Grade 8 Early French Immersion);
• An increased enrolment resulting from combining both schools will allow for a larger and more diverse staff, an equitable range of learning opportunities and a rich array of social, cultural and extra-curricular activities for students;
• A new school would be built for the 21st century with improved facilities that would provide an enhanced learning environment;
• With a higher student population, there would be a breadth of parents/volunteers to support and enhance the overall school community.
The new school will either be built on one of the two existing sites or on a new site within the consolidated school zone. The selection of an appropriate site and the determination of an effective date for consolidation will be the immediate next steps in the process.
