Newport Station may lose its elementary school. After reviewing Avon View High School, West Hants Middle School and their seven feeder schools, Annapolis Valley Regional School Board (AVRSB) staff is recommending the board consider closing Newport Station District Elementary School.
At the board’s operations’ committee meeting April 19, staff recommended AVRSB initiate a formal review of Newport Station District School. In accordance with Education Act and Regulations, AVRSB would apply for a review April 1, 2011.
Stuart Jamieson, AVRSB’s director of finance and operations, pointed out initiating a review does not necessarily mean the school will close. However, with seven elementaries, the smallest one is a candidate for consolidation. “If we’re going to look at a school in West Hants, this is the school we have to look at.”
The other staff recommendation is to move all Grade 9 students into Avon View and all Grade 6 students into the middle school, as soon as there is space available at AVHS. Enrolment projections suggest there could be room for the region’s Grade 9 students within three years.
Pat Parker, school board representative for Brooklyn District Elementary, Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary and West Hants Middle School, spoke out against both recommendations.
She expressed concern about Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School in Summerville. By moving Grade 6 students out of the small, rural elementary, “it is felt we are setting this school up for closure down the road.”
Parker suggested, while the Grade Primary to 5, Grade 6 to 8 and Grade 9 to 12 are the board’s preferred school configurations, an exception should be made for the tiny Summerville school.
The committee’s recommendations go to a full school board for approval. The next board meeting is May 5, 7 p.m. at Wolfville School. The two-year review process covered schools in West Hants, as well as several schools in Eastern Kings and Annapolis counties.
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