The director of the public school board in Lambton-Kent is optimistic the moratorium on school consolidations, introduced by the province in 2018, will be lifted sometime next year to allow the local board to address low enrollment and half empty schools in the area.
Lambton-Kent District School Board (LKDSB) Director of Education John Howitt told Blackburn News the province is thinking about lifting the moratorium to allow for school consolidation, closures, and new school construction, but there's no official word yet.
Howitt said the moratorium on school closures must be lifted in order for the LKDSB to get on with its plans and "right-size" schools to provide better programming to students in state-of-the-art facilities.
"We look forward to the time when the province does lift the moratorium on school consolidations, as we believe we have some really good plans that will support student programming and learning in state-of-the-art facilities when the moratorium is lifted," said Howitt. "We are aware that the Ministry is thinking about it and is looking for ways to speed up school construction and new school construction and removing some of the barriers that drag out that process."
A new Pupil Accommodation Report presented to school trustees December 13, 2022 showed that some schools in Lambton-Kent sit half empty. Those include Dawn-Euphemia Public School (47% capacity), Hannah Memorial PS (46%), Lakeroad PS (41%), Mooretown PS (41%), Queen E II Sarnia PS (51%), Merlin PS (53%), and Wheatley PS (51%).
Blenheim District High School and Ridgetown District Secondary School especially stand out when it comes to low enrolment, sitting at just 29% capacity and 24% capacity respectively.
Some schools are also aging and the school board estimates $466 million needs to be spent over the next decade to repair them compared to $786 million to replace them.
The LKDSB said it has an overall enrolment of 22,275 in 2022-2023 (14,881 elementary students and 7,394 secondary students), with an overall capacity of 74.16 per cent as of October 31, 2022. However, over the past 10 years, there has been a 7.23 per cent decline in enrolment, with six elementary schools currently under 150 students and three secondary schools under 400 students. Senior administration said overall, there are 7,761 empty pupil spaces and the 10-year projections indicate LKDSB enrolment will continue to fluctuate, resulting in an overall decline of 308 students in 2032.
There is currently a full-time equivalent (FTE) of 120 students enrolled in the Elementary Virtual Learning program at McNaughton Avenue Public School as of October 31, 2022 and FTE of 180 students enrolled in the Secondary Virtual Learning Program at Lambton Kent Composite School as of the end of October 2022.
Howitt said families are smaller than yesteryear and it's the board's responsibility to ensure schools are located where the population is growing.
"Neighbourhoods are growing in areas where schools don't necessarily exist. So, some consolidations to reduce vacant spaces and create modern facilities for students where students are is a great opportunity," Howitt said.
LKDSB also noted that annual funding from the province is not adequate to meet the board's needs.
Howitt promised there will be community public consultation whenever the pupil accommodation review takes place to consolidate, close, and build new schools.
The full report of possible school consolidations and closures can be found here.
The Ministry of Education has not said if and when the school moratorium will be lifted.