Ottawa

Close Munster Elementary School in 2015, OCDSB recommends

Munster Elementary School in Ottawa's rural southwest should be closed and its students transferred to one of three schools next year, according to an Ottawa public school board report to be discussed next week.

School with capacity of 219 had 58 students in Oct. 2014

Parents protest Munster school closure

10 years ago
Duration 2:15
The possibility of an elementary school closing in Munster is upsetting some parents.

Munster Elementary School in Ottawa's rural southwest should be closed and its students transferred to one of three schools next year, according to an Ottawa public school board report to be discussed next week.

The decision comes after enrolment at the school had been steadily dropping. Munster has a capacity of 219 students but had only 58 students as of October 2014.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board staff report recommends students currently attending the school be given a one-time option to attend either A. Lorne Cassidy Elementary School or Richmond Public School in September 2015.

The same option would be made available for the students' siblings that would be enrolled in junior kindergarten in 2015.

Current Munster Elementary School grade 5 students residing north of Fallowfield Road would also have the option to attend Goulbourn Middle School in September 2015.

The board had looked into the option of starting a new early French immersion program at the school, but found that offering such a program would not have significantly improved enrolment.