No students, but school in Little Bay Islands still open for now

Fewer than 100 people, officially, make up the total population of Little Bay Islands, and while there is no store, no doctor andno fire department, the school remains open despite not having any enrolled students.

"They're keeping the fuel to the school [there are] no students there right now. This will be the second year that there hasn't been no students in the school," said Tara Roberts, who has lived in the community for 30 years.

"I have no idea why the reason is about that."

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School Districtconfirmed that H.L. Strong Academy is still open, but may not be for long.

The district's board of trustees tabled a notice of motion last weekend proposing to close the school in June2018. The board will vote Feb. 3, butthe community can weigh in ahead of time.

"[The school] does not have any attending students though it remains officially open," according to a statement from thedistrict.

The heat is left on in order to "maintain the structure" and prevent mould, whilea phone line may be kept for security alarms, according to the school district.

But, the district insisted, the lights are kept off, although they were on for one day last week.

Resettlement retry?

Much like H.L. Strong Academy, the town itself located in Newfoundland's Notre Dame Bay is in a limbo of sorts.

In 2015,89.47 per cent of residents voted in favour of resettlement, but that figure felljust short of the provincial government's threshold that requires at least 90 per cent.

Some residents at the time criticized the government's population number, arguing it was too high.

• Little Bay Islands resettlement vote based on 'false information,' says former mayor

Changes have been made to who can vote, and residents haveapplied for relocation again.

The provincial government is beginning a cost-benefit analysis and looking at permanent residencystatus in Little Bay Islands, according to the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment.

That means a lot of unknowns for now, and the future of H.L. Strong Academy is one of them.

'Nice place'

For Roberts, who lives on Little Bay Islands with her husband and 20-year-old daughter, the still-open school isa reminder of what once was.

"When I came here first, there was a grocery store, a fire brigade, a doctor would come down from Springdale now there is nothing like that," she told CBCRadio's On the Go.

But, Robertsadded, "It was a nice place and it still is a nice place."

That's especially true inthe summer, when people from Ontario and the U.S. travel to the community.

Winter, however, is a different story.

"It's not a good situation to be here in the wintertime. Like, if you got a doctor's appointment you got to go on a 40-minute ferry ride," said Roberts, who admits she worries about the isolation at times.

Even going to the nearest store requires boarding the early morning ferry to Springdaletomake it back in time before dark, she explained.

Roberts says the end might be near for Little Bay Islands, regardless of whether the community hits the 90 per cent threshold required by government.

"Whetherresettlement goes ahead or not, eventually we're going to have to go somewhere because there's just simply nothing here," she said.

It's a complicated issue for Roberts.

"Little Bay Islands is still home."