The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is closing elementary schools in west Windsor, Amherstburg and Leamington.
"It's a shame that any school has to close," says Francine Mastronardi with the Queen of Peace advisory council. "It's upsetting. There are a lot of tears. Even for the schools that remained open there are a lot of tears."
Queen of Peace school in Leamington is being closed as part of the downsizing — although it will serve as a temporary middle school for Grade 7 and Grade 8 before the last student leaves.
An eventual permanent middle school will be set up at Cardinal Carter secondary school before Queen of Peace is closed.
St. Louis school in Leamington had been in line for closure, but will now be the new consolidated Catholic elementary school in the town.
Marianne Baeini with the school's advisory council is thrilled.
"It feels great. We've always said though from day one this is about the kids. It's not about which school is winning, because the kids are going to win in the end," says Baeini. "We're going to work together. It's not about our school versus Queen of Peace. It's us together as a school community."
St. Louis Catholic Elementary School in Leamington. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
One of the chief reasons given by administration in recommending the closures was the financial crunch the board is facing when it comes to empty classroom spaces.
Director of Education Paul Picard also added, in regards to the recommended closure of St. John elementary in west Windsor, the growing footprint of the University of Windsor in the city's west end is giving the board bleak projections for future enrolment in the area.
St. John elementary in west Windsor will be closed in June with JK to Grade 6 students being consolidated at the St. James site. The Grade 7 and Grade 8 students will be moved to Assumption College for September.
St. Bernard elementary in Amherstburg is set for closure in June as well with students moving to Stella Maris for the new school year in September.
The vote on the Amherstburg recommendation was the only one on the night that wasn't unanimous with Amherstburg-area trustee Frank DiTomasso voting against the move to close St. Bernard.
Picard says the work on the transition process for the affected schools will begin right away.
It's a process Mastronardi will be watching carefully.
"It's time to move on," she says. "The next step is to make sure that the trustees are held accountable and the board is held accountable for all those programs that they promised are going to come our way better come into fruition."
