Morell parents mostly quiet at school review

Community members who gathered at a public meeting Tuesday evening launching consultations on the review of the Morell family of schools were ready to listen.

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About 75 people attended the meeting, part of the first round of consultations by P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch that will likely see major rezoning of schools in the province and potentially some schools closed.

The first round is mostly about presenting information on enrolment numbers and the review process. The crowd listened intently, with just a few questions asked, mostly just asking for clarification.

Bob Andrews, school reorganization project manager for the Public Schools Branch, told the meeting Morell schools have the lowest utilization rate on the Island, just 47 per cent, and enrolment at all three schools in the family is projected to drop in the next five years.

Andrews emphasized no decisions have been made yet.

"There's no hidden agenda, there's no plan in someone's desk drawer. It's a blank sheet of paper,"he said.

Concern for high school

Heather Mullen has two children at Mount Stewart Consolidated, and she is looking ahead to when they reach high school.

"I think everyone in the area is concerned about our high school," said Mullen.

"We want to understand how we can make it viable and how we can continue to have our students go to, maybe, a school in the community, [and] in the country."

Mullen said she's not surprised the schools are up for review, and ultimately she wants her kids to have the best possible education even if that means they end up in a different school.

She added she believes rural areas of P.E.I. have great schools, and that was a part of her family's reason to live outside the cities.

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