Moncton High's options open for public debate
The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on a series of options put forward by a working group last week on where Moncton High's roughly 1,300 students should be taking classes starting next September.
The working group released three potential options late last week. And now public sessions will be held on Wednesday and Thursday nights so the group can receive feedback.
Carole Murphy, a spokeswoman for the working group, said the group is still looking at options to locate the school's students despite releasing the three proposals last week.
"It's important for us to say that we're not finished our work and we're still open to other ideas that come forward," Murphy said.
"So if we see a venue that we do think is adaptable at a reasonable cost then of course we would want to consider that."
The 75-year-old school has been closed to students since October after health and safety concerns were exposed.
The closure forced roughly 1,300 students to spread out to a series of other city schools for the remainder of the school year.
The Department of Education has announced a new school will be built, but it will not be ready for the next school year.
The working group's recommendation will be made by Feb. 15.
Education Minister Jody Carr will ultimately decide what happens to the Moncton High students next fall.
Working group options
The working committee came up with three specific proposals and opened the door to other options if they became available.
For instance, one of the working group's option would be to have an internal split shift for students divided between the Grade 9 and 10 students and the Grade 11 and 12 students.
Each group of students would attend classes either two or three days a week on a rotational basis, taking four courses each semester.
This option would have the students remain at Edith Cavell School and have Edith Cavell students remain at Queen Elizabeth School.
Some of the options could include keeping the students split between two Kindergarten to Grade 8 schools or moving students out of another middle school to accommodate Grade 9 students.
The group also considered using commercial space in the city, such as Highfield Square or the former Vanier School.
The group is still studying the possibility of using the former Atlantic Baptist University campus or building a temporary school and looking for space at local universities.