Whitbourne Elementary could be on the chopping block — again

Parents in Whitbourne are gearing up — again — for the fight to keep the community's elementary school.

For the second time in three years, Whitbourne Elementary is under review for closure by the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District.

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"To say that we were shocked and a tad bit upset I think that would be putting it mildly," says Patti Kennedy, who chairs the school's council.

We proved our point the last time … now we have to prove the exact same points.- Patti Kennedy

In July 2013, parents in Whitbourne won a fight to keep the school open, as it was being reviewed by the board for possible closure.

Kennedy said it doesn't make sense to her why, less than three years later, parents are going to have to go through the same fight again.

"The frustrating part of it is, we proved our point the last time … now we have to prove the exact same points with a higher enrolment, with a higher projected enrolment," she said.

The provincial government has asked all departments and agencies to look for cost savings of 30 per cent. That includes the education department.

Whitbourne Elementary has 83 students and capacity of 325, while Woodland Elementary, about 20 kilometres away, has 185 students and a capacity of 324.

'We're an anomaly'

According to Kennedy, Whitbourne is something of a diamond in the rough for the province, and trying to cut the school again doesn't make sense.

"You could almost say we're an anomaly in the centre of economic cutbacks," she said.

"Whitbourne is a booming community, the population is growing, the numbers projected for the school, the numbers we collected door-to-door and verified house-to-house three years ago are accurate and are in fact a little bit higher in the coming years."

Kennedy added if students in Whitbourne need to be bused to another school, it's likely there will be children who can no longer take part in after-school programs due to the commute required.

She also pointed the finger at Education Minister Dale Kirby, who, prior to being elected, pushed for school board elections that haven't been held in years.

Kirby said this week there was no need to rush the board trustee elections, although he said they would be held within the year.

Kennedy said if Whitbourne is forced to go through this process again, it would be unelected school board trustees making the decision.