As the Edmonton public school board continues to discuss closing several city schools at the end of June, McCauley School parents are questioning the impact their school’s closure would have on their neighborhood.
The nearly 100-year old McCauley School is yet another Edmonton school being considered for closure due to low student enrollment.
Built for twice the number of students currently enrolled, the number of children attending the four level school has been on the decline for years.
Residents of the McCauley area are taking the news particularly hard as it comes in the middle of their efforts to redevelop and revitalize a part of Edmonton traditionally known as one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Of the 170 children attending the school, half are English as a Second Language students and one in six are aboriginal.
The board argues that the decision to close makes sense and that the students can be served as well or better if resources are consolidated at other schools.
A large part of the neighborhood’s revitalization project is geared towards bringing more families to areas like McCauley.
The Quarters Downtown, a city-led project just south of McCauley, is aiming to redevelop 18 blocks over the next 15 to 20 years.
The Quarters development manager Kathleen Young argues that keeping the school was a better alternative than not having it at all.
"By eliminating services, you eliminate a certain demographic and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," she said.
However, Edmonton Public administrators argue that provincial funding is based on a per-student basis and that redevelopment does not ensure that student enrollment numbers will go up.
"It’s a dance between being responsive to what a development will desire to bring and what it will bring in that is challenging to the district." said Lorne Parker, Edmonton Public’s managing director of planning and student transportation.
City councilor Tony Caterina is one of many council member considering community revitalization efforts.
He expressed his concerns that eliminating McCauley school may result in the community’s demoralization and compound the problem of high levels of subsidized housing already in the neighborhood.
A community meeting regarding the school’s potential closure will be held Monday night at 7 p.m.in the McCauley School gym.
With files from the Edmonton Journal
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