Enrolment plummets, future of the Mount looks dim

Projected enrolment at Mount St. Joseph College is expected to drop at least one-third next year, trustees of the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board learned last night.

The news, which offers little encouragement to those struggling to save the Sault's only single-gender secondary school from closure, was delivered last night by Director of Education John Stadnyk. There are currently about 150 girls registered at Mount St. Joseph.

Next year, 65 of those students are expected to graduate from Grade 12.

Meanwhile, just 15 Grade 9 students are expected to enroll next year, bringing total projected enrolment to only 100, likely less, Stadnyk said.

This year Catholic school board senior staff expected 25 students to enroll in Grade 9 at the Mount, but only 15 did.

Stadnyk told concerned parents at last night's special meeting of the board that all eight alternatives presently on the table have to be considered because it isn't realistic to expect to deliver a good quality core program to just 15 students.

"I expect the problems to continue as that class moves up through the grade levels," said Stadnyk. "Things may even get worse as we get into trying to offer more optional courses."

Mary Hannah (shown) was one of the concerned parents who attended last night's meeting.

She said that the school is making a positive difference in the lives of its students.

The parents were looking for support from the board to show prospective students that the Mount is still a viable choice.

"Mount St. Joseph has more than gone the extra mile to make sure that people still know its a viable option," Stadnyk said.

Stadnyk also reassured students in attendance last night that they and their families will be consulted on what will happen to the remaining students should the board decide to close it.

A report outlining eight possible options for the school. was accepted last night as information.

Trustees now have 60 days to examine the options and to gather more information about those options.

Stadnyk also assured everyone that he has been submitting all the work the board has done along the way to the Ministry of Education.

"We've been asking for a template to use to examine the possibility of closing a school but nothing is forthcoming," said Stadnyk.

The Mount came up for review for possible closure on December 1, 2004 when its enrolment numbers dropped below 300.

In February, 2005, the Ministry of Education came out with Good Places to Learn a document that included steps to follow when reviewing schools for possible closure.

"After that, they went into some communities to hear appeals on closures," said Stadnyk. "Some decisions were upheld and others were reversed, depending on how closely the process fit the guidelines in Good Places to Learn."

"It would only take 50 signatures to launch an appeal," said Marchy Bruni, chair of the Huron-Superior Catholic School Board.

Stadnyk said that board staff have been sending the Ministry of Education documentation of what they are doing at each step, and so far have not been told that what they are doing is wrong.

The full text of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board release appears below.

************************ Board receives task force input for Mount St. Joseph college decision

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board trustees received a report Wednesday compiling stakeholder input on Mount St. Joseph College from the past year and will make a decision in two months on the secondary school's future.

The material included the outcome from two recent opportunities for public contributions – written submissions were invited and to be received by November 22 and the Board's Mount St. Joseph College Valuation Task Force also held a November 29 public information session, attended by nearly 40 parents, students, teachers and alumni.

Both written and public submissions were made under the categories of: Value to Students, Value to the School System, Value to the Community, and Value the Local Economy, as directed by the Ministry of Education’s Good Places to Learn document.

The task force met last Wednesday to review these presentations. The report to the Board included public input from opportunities in February and September.

"Trustees have received an extensive package of presentations from individuals and groups as well as data about the school to consider over the next two months," says Marchy Bruni, Board Chairperson, who also headed the Task Force. "The aim of this process is to ensure a sound decision is made, based on guidelines from the provincial government. We want to come to a conclusion that is in the best interests of all students in the system, now and in the future."

The two-month timeline allows the minimum 60 days between when trustees received information from the task force and their making a decision on the future of the school, as prescribed by the Good Places to Learn document. It outlines 10 steps boards must consider when contemplating school closures.

Establishing a task force to seek public input was also part of these procedures.

A decision in February would allow effective secondary school planning for the 2006-2007 school year.

Mount St. Joseph College was declared to be "under active consideration for closure" on December 1, 2004.

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