District Education Council Chair Rob Fowler says this fall is the earliest we’ll hear anything regarding the future of 7 inner-city schools in Saint John. Recommendations from the District Education Council are expected sooner than that, perhaps as early as next month or in April.
Fowler says students wouldn’t move until 2020-2021.
He says the Anglophone South School District is behind other school districts in the province in terms of getting new buildings. Fowler points to Anglophone East with 4 new schools, Anglophone West has 8 new schools and Anglophone North has 5 new schools.
By contrast, Anglophone South has received two new schools since 2006 and experienced a 23 percent enrolment drop in the last 15 years up to 2015.
One of the major challenges aside from declining enrolment include tighter budgets and aging school buildings which require greater maintenance.
