EIPS Trustees Vote

EIPS Trustees Vote to Proceed with Information Report on Possible Closure of Andrew School

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

On April 6 Elk Island Public School Board of Trustees voted in favour of having Superintendent Mark Liguori proceed with an information report on the possible closure of Andrew School and to bring it forward at the April 20 meeting.

Seated in the public gallery during the meeting were Village of Andrew Mayor Merwin Haight and Deputy Mayor Tammy Pickett. No other members of the public were in attendance for the special meeting which lasted just under 18 minutes.

Liguori made the request and did bring some information forward regarding the current and projected enrolment, future funding and possible staffing as well as the condition of the facility and cost estimates for repairs to the roofing and fire suppression system.

“Andrew School is experiencing declining enrolment as well as failing infrastructure and other pressures. As such, it’s my belief that the educational viability as well as the physical viability of the school as well as the school community is at significant risk.

As the board is well aware the school in Andrew is an important fixture in the community and does provide a hub for the village and adjacent rural areas. But what we are currently faced with is an historical trend of declining enrolment in the school which is making it increasingly more difficult to provide high quality programming for our students in the K-6 program.”

He pointed out that there were 62 Kindergarten to Grade 6 students at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. The projected enrolment for the 2023-24 school year was 44 students at the end of the preregistration period at the end of February. “That number has declined to 41 students as of this morning.” Based on that, Liguori said there would be three Kindergarten students, 15 Grade 1 students, eight Grade 2 students, three Grade 3 students, five Grade 4 students, six Grade 5 students and four Grade 6 students for 2023-24 school year.

Village of Andrew Mayor Merwin Haight, left, and Deputy Mayor Tammy Pickett.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo

Board Chair Trina Boymook stated, “As the 41 projected enrolment students for next year it certainly is disappointing at this point because you know really it wasn’t long ago when we were out in Andrew that we had numbers at the elementary level that we felt confident that we could provide a high-quality experience and to just to continue year after year watch those numbers continually drop and drop and drop.”

Boymook said she was supportive of receiving a report and more details in order to give deeper consideration of the situation and if there other alternatives available. What would education look like if we end up compromising our commitment to provide high quality education, and are we able to be able do that with a handful or a small number of students? My fear is right now is that we might have further decline in enrolment. We had 44, now were down to 41. Are we going to continue to see more students within this year declare that they’re not coming back at all.”

Liguori said, “As you can see from those numbers it equates to a small teaching and support staff as well as declining enrolment over time…When we look at the weighted moving average for Andrew School and when do the calculation on what we perceive the enrolment will be for next year we will have moved from group 3 to group 2 which cause decline in funding $663,772 to $481,777. When we take a look at that it’s an approximate $180,000 difference from the prior year.

When look at unit costs for our staff it would be a significant decline in the current FTE, (full time equivalent) that is available at the school and this would mean there is a potential for multi-graded programs. That could be three grades per class, a significant decrease in administrative and counselling time and other services we believe, or as I believe as Superintendent are essential for our students’ schools.

As the board is well aware the facility condition of Andrew School is dire. We have two significant issues, one with the roofing system and one with the fire suppression system. In January we brought to the board a report for both systems and currently know the fire suppression system replacement would most likely cost a minimum estimate of 1 million dollars. And without fire suppression system we would not be able to have occupancy in the building unless we provided fire watch for 24-hour period which would be an extraordinary expense.

We also know we have a roofing system that needs to be replaced and the estimates that we have received are approximately 2.27 million dollars and those are based on estimates and bids that we have received.”

Trustees did request Liguori bring back information on possible class configurations, staff compliment, data for children in the area four years of age or younger that are eligible to go to Andrew School, where the students are located in the Andrew boundary area and map of where students reside, transportation, ride times and alternate locations for education.

In a follow up interview, Liguori said EIPS has met extensively with the parent group over the past three years and had tried different programming for younger children and operated a preschool at the school for a time.

Liguori said the board will make a decision on the viability of the school at its April 20 meeting. Public consultation would follow the week after that if the matter moves forward.