Catholic Board okays plan to merge 4 east Edmonton schools

The Edmonton Catholic School Board is a step closer to building a new school to replace four aging schools in the Capilano and Bonnie Doon neighbourhoods.

As CBC's Matthew Kupfer reports in the video, the board adopted a district capital plan Tuesday night to shut down four schools —St. Gabriel, St. Kevin, St. Brendan and St. James — and replace them with a new K-9 school, St. Bernard.

The  four schools are at less-than-half capacity with extraordinarily high maintainence costs, the board said.

The province is forcing boards to accomodate students as efficiently as they can, board chair Becky Kallal said. 

The capital plan must yet be approved by the province and the board will have to consult with parents before it closes the schools.