Restructuring plan delivered to education minister

P.E.I.'s Eastern School District has given Education Minister Gerard Greenan a proposal to reorganize its 43 schools, a plan that likely includes closing some of them.

The proposal, anticipated for more than a year, will be made public next Wednesday. The Eastern School District enrolment has declined by more than a third over the past 30 years. At the same time, some schools, such as Glen Stewart in Stratford east of Charlottetown, are overcrowded.

While some closures are expected, extensive rezoning will be required to balance over- and under-populated schools.

It will be up to the provincial government to make the final decision on school closures. No schools on P.E.I. have closed in at least 12 years, despite recommendations.

The previous Progressive Conservative government, in power from 1996 to 2007, kept the schools open as a matter of policy.