TRURO – The Chignecto Central Regional School Board voted in favour of the committee of the whole’s recommendation to close Highland Consolidated and submit two options for its students to move to other schools for analysis.
A joint committee of educational and operational services held a meeting previous to the meeting Wednesday to narrow the options the board had to choose from for the future of Highland Consolidated students from the original nine options to two options. The joint committee recommended at the committee of the whole meeting that the board put forward options two and three for analysis as part of the capital construction funds submission to the province, and the board voted in favour of that recommendation Wednesday.
Option two would see Highland Consolidated students remain at Dr. W.A. MacLeod Elementary and MacLeod would be renovated to become a Primary to Grade 8 school to accommodate a middle school program.
If the board chooses to go forward with option three, Highland Consolidated would be closed and three existing schools would be renovated into Primary to Grade 8 schools: G.R. Saunders, Walter Duggan and Dr. W.A. MacLeod would all be renovated to accommodate a middle school program.
In both options two and three, the students would move to Northumberland Regional High School for Grades 9 to 12.
In a previous public meeting held at Dr. W.A. MacLeod, board superintendent Gary Clarke stated that no matter what option the board goes with, Highland students will likely remain at Dr. W.A. MacLeod for the 2013-2014 school year as any option will require a year-long process to secure funds from the provincial government for expansions and renovations.
Highland Consolidated will need to go through a school review by the school board before it can be closed under the Education Act.
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