WATCH ABOVE: Browns Flat School parents will ask for their own judicial review of the minister’s decision to close their school on Wednesday. Global’s Laura Brown reports.
BROWNS FLAT, N.B. – The community of Browns Flat is getting ready for a court case in the hopes it can keep their local school open.
The Minister of Education decided Browns Flat School would close after a sustainability study was done on the school earlier this year.
READ MORE: District approves Browns Flat School closure
On Wednesday, the community is hoping to fill a Saint John court room to ask for a judicial review of the Minister’s decision.
Kelly Lamrock, the lawyer representing the school, says he expects the ruling to come down later this month.
“In the end, the school’s closing and no one’s willing to stand up and say here’s why the decision was made,” he said.
READ MORE: 12 schools in New Brunswick up for possible closure
But while Browns Flat’s fight is nearing the end, 28 other schools will begin their fight during the upcoming school year.
Under the province’s school closure policy, a study must be launched for any school with fewer than 100 students or is at 30 per cent of less of its capacity.
READ MORE: New policy to trigger reviews of N.B. schools with low enrolment
Twenty-eight schools fit that criteria, including 15 anglophone and 13 francophone.
“Even though we did this for our kids, we hope that this sets a precedent for the other schools going through this,” said Browns Flat parent Tammy London. “And that the DEC recognizes that they have responsibility to the people and they will be held accountable.”
READ MORE: Education councils vote to close 3 N.B. schools, consolidate 2 others
The Department of Education declined to comment, as the matter is before the courts.
List of schools that will undergo viability studies:
District scolaire francophone Nord-Est
- La Découverte – Saint-Sauveur
- L’Escale-des-Jeunes – Bas-Caraquet
- Académie Assomption – Bathurst
- Séjour-Jeunesse – Pointe-Verte
- École Ola-Léger – Bertrand
District scolaire francophone du Nord-Ouest
- Polyvalente A.J.-Savoie – Saint-Quentin
- École Régionale Sainte-Anne – Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska
- École Ernest-Lang – Saint-François
Francophone Sud School District
- École Calixte-F.-Savoie – Sainte-Anne-de-Kent
- École Saint-Paul – Saint-Paul-de-Kent
- École Mont Carmel – Sainte-Marie-de-Kent
- École Mgr-Marcel-François-Richard – Saint-Louis-de-Kent
- École Marée Montante – Saint-Louis-de-Kent
Anglophone North School District
- Napan Elementary School – Napan
- Tide Head School – Tide Head
- Lord Beaverbrook School – Campbellton
- Campbellton Middle School – Campbellton
- North and South Esk Elementary School– Sunny Corner
- North and South Esk High School – Sunny Corner
- Janeville Elementary School – Janeville
Anglophone School District – South
- Back Bay Elementary School – Back Bay
- Lawrence Station Elementary – Lawrence Station
Anglophone West School District
- McAdam Elementary School
- Burton Elementary School
- Millville Elementary School
- Nackawick Elementary School
- Nackawick Middle School
- Nackawick High School
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