Lambton-Kent school board to close additional 50 classrooms this September
CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2019 10:00 AM | Last Updated: June 20, 2019
Administrator Gary Girardi says that declining enrollment numbers have forced the board to cut classrooms
The Lambton-Kent District School Board (LKDSB) announced plans last week to shutter 50 more classrooms for September 2019.
According to Lambton-Kent superintendent Gary Girardi, classroom closures are not a new development, and are the result of almost a decade of declining enrolment numbers.
"Over the past few years, we've had approximately 200 classrooms closed, so there's an additional 50 classrooms or so that we are closing for September," explained Girardi.
In total, the board will have closed approximately 250 classrooms once the September 2019 closures are completed.
Over the past few years, we've had ... 200 classrooms closed ... - Gary Girardi, LKDSB superintedent of education
According to the board's numbers, McNaughton Avenue Public School in Chatham, Ont. is the elementary school with the greatest number of closures so far, with a total of 31 classrooms shuttered at that school.
Northern Collegiate Institute and Vocational School in Sarnia, Ont. is currently the high school with the greatest number of closures. The board closed 63 classrooms at that institution.
Not operating at capacity
The LKDSB said 21,758 students were enrolled in the 2018-19 school year, a figure that represented an 11.2 per cent drop in enrolment over the past 10 years.
Elementary schools in the district are expected to operate at 77 per cent capacity as of September 2019, while secondary schools are expected to operate at 65 per cent capacity.
Those percentages translate into a total of 14,583 students in elementary schools and 7,192 students in secondary schools.
"This is just a gradual process that we've gone through in order to find some efficiencies so that we can place more money in terms of student supports at our schools that will be open in September," said Girardi.
Girardi also explained that the school hasn't just cut classrooms. Instead, Lambton-Kent consolidated classrooms and simultaneously closed schools where necessary.
According to Girardi, the LKDSB saves approximately $3,000 for each shuttered classroom in a school year.