Enrollment Data ARC ~~ Projected and Links To Accommodation Review

The intention of this post is to encapsulate the highlights and issues from past meetings, they reside on the yourschools.ca website as well, but obviously, judging by blog traffic, some people might want the links here as well. Hopefully this forum will allow for discussion as well as viewing of the information, for those who are new to the discussion and those who have been previously engaged.

http://www.yourschools.ca/accommodation/CENH-Arc/documents/ARCEnrolmentData.pdf

This link gives an idea of student enrollment in the public schools and projected trends, for those who have not already seen the numbers.


The link below has minutes of meetings of the Central East North Huron Area Accommodation Review.

http://www.yourschools.ca/accommodation/CENH-Arc/CENHarc.htm


These links are available from the http://www.yourschools.ca/ site, yet, it is nice to have them mirrored here as well. As they were in PDF format, I was unable to copy and paste. I encourage everyone to read these over if they have not already.


Also a quote from the website:

http://www.yourschools.ca/accommodation/


"2008 - 2009 Accommodation Review - November 4, 2008
Select this link for the North Huron ARC
Select this link for the Usborne Central ARC

Board Identifies Two Areas for Accommodation ReviewAfter receiving and discussing the Preliminary Pupil Accommodation Analysis for 2008 – 2009, Trustees have voted to begin the Accommodation Review process in two areas. The Board will begin an accommodation review and establish an Accommodation Review Committee for the area including Blyth Public School, East Wawanosh Public School, Hullett Central Public School, Turnberry Central Public School, and Wingham Public School. The Board also decided to begin an accommodation review process and establish an Accommodation Review Committee for Usborne Central Public School.

Board Policy No.18 – Pupil Accommodation Reviews, requires an annual preliminary analysis of accommodation data, which may include:
the Ministry of Education capacity for each school,
the level of actual occupancy as a percentage of Ministry of Education capacity,
the current and projected enrolment in each school,
other information or special circumstances that the director of education may deem relevant, and recommendations to the board regarding which school(s), if any, should be placed under review and the circumstances that support this review.

An accommodation review may result in such changes as: changes to the grades offered in a school, closures, and/or any other practical solutions to overcrowded, underutilized, or inadequate school facilities. Over the past four years the provincial government has added significant amounts of money to the education system in Ontario, and this has benefited the Avon Maitland District School Board. However, cost pressures continue to exist. Since the 2001-2002 school year enrolments have declined by 13.9% in the elementary panel. Over a 10-year period enrolments are projected to decline by a further 6.5% in the elementary schools.


Deciding to undertake an accommodation review in a community or series of communities must be based on many different factors. They may include:

Current and projected enrollment of the schools in relation to school rate capacity.
Condition of buildings (including accessibility for the disabled), and anticipated costs to maintain the buildings.

The ability of trustees and staff to adequately supply information during an accommodation review to communities as needed where multiple communities are identified and the readiness of the communities to engage in a dialogue with the board about accommodation related issues.
In 2007 - 2008 there was significant excess capacity in these North Huron region elementary schools.The enrolment for the region where Usborne Central Public School is located along with Exeter Public School, South Perth Centennial Public School and Stephen Central Public School also continues to decline. Over the past five years the combined enrolments in these four elementary schools has dropped 22% and is projected to decline another 6.4% in 2008 - 2009. Over the past five years the enrolment in Usborne Central Public School has dropped 38% and is projected to decline another 6.4% in 2008 - 2009."