The proposed consolidation of schools in the Forest area will be discussed publicly for a second time Monday.
The Lambton Kent District School Board is hosting another pupil accommodation review public meeting to talk about the consolidation of Aberarder Central, Bosanquet Central, Kinnwood Central and North Lambton Secondary Schools into a kindergarten to grade 12 school on the Kinnwood Central School Site.
Superintendent Gary Girardi says it's another opportunity for the public to clarify items, ask questions of give input.
"There's been a varied response," says Girardi. "We have had a lot of really good dialog with people from the community and from the communities of each of the individual schools. People have asked a lot of questions and I think people have educated themselves in terms of what is meant by a kindergarten to Grade 12 school."
The super school would be the first of its kind in the Lambton Kent District School Board.
"We took the committee, which has representation from all the schools, to see the kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Walkerton, so they could see a school like that function on a regular day, with the students and staff in the building, because we thought that would help in terms of understanding what a kindergarten to Grade 12 school looks like in a small community, similar size to Forest," says Girardi.
Girardi adds they wanted to maintain as many schools as possible in the boards rural communities, but funding decisions from the ministry and declining enrollment has not made that possible.
The meeting, at North Lambton Secondary School, goes from 6pm to 8pm.
A decision on possible consolidation is anticipated in March 2017.
If the Ministry of Education approves funding for an addition, construction could begin this July with students hoped to enter the new site by September 2019.
