While enrollment numbers may force some changes to schools in the south, there are no plans to close or make big changes to North Hastings schools.
That from a Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board official, upon release of the board’s Long-term Capital And Accommodation Plan
Superintendent of Business Services Nick Pfeiffer says schools in the north have healthy populations. In fact, some are seeing a slight increase in enrollment, which is common across the entire school board.
“Up in the north, I really don’t see that as a challenge at the moment,” he says. “There are really no options that are put forward looking at any space concerns in that area. I’d say that’s good news in general.
“Our board was a board of declining enrollment for many years. We went from 20,000 students to 15,000 students over a 10-year period starting in 2002 or 2003. Now we’re starting to see it’s going the other way.
“You’ll see a modest increase over the next 10 years in enrollment; eight per cent give or take. I think that’s a good news story. It’s a good news story for all parts of the board, including the north.”
The Capital and Accommodation Plan is available online. It includes tonnes of data on future spending needs at schools and projected enrollment numbers in the future.