Cape Breton Victoria school board cuts 46 jobs due to enrolment drop

The Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board will cut 46 jobs this fall, including 16 teaching positions.

The board made the decision Wednesday night whileapprovingits budget for the upcoming school year.

Officials saidthe cuts are necessary because of an ongoing decline in enrolment, plus the closure of 17 schools over the next five years.

Ten of those schools will close this fall.

Dramatic drop in enrolment

The decline in enrolment has been dramatic in the past two decades.

In 1996, when the regional school board was created, it had an enrolment of 24,045 students.

• Cape Breton Victoria School Board eliminating 40 teaching posts

The projected number of students for the coming school year is 12,545, a decline of roughly 50 per cent.

"It's really disturbing," said board superintendent Beth MacIsaac. "If you look at the projected decline for next year, it's another 350 students, which is the size of one of our medium-sized middle schools, right? Every year, we're losing a school."

Retirements and resignations

In addition to 16 teaching jobs cut this fall, there will be a loss of 27 CUPE positions and another threein regional administration.

MacIsaac says most of the unionized jobs were linked to school buildings in maintenance and operations.

She expects most, if not all, of the job cuts can be offset by retirements and resignations.

Some good news

MacIsaac says the financial news is not all bad.

She says the province is providing extra money, known as "targeted funding,"to help improve student performance in math and literacyand to help limit class sizes in the lower grades.

She says the board is also investing in increased busing, secretarial staff and grounds supervision for newly amalgamated schools.