TRI-COUNTY REGIONAL SCHOOL BOARD
SCHOOL UTILIZATION STUDY
PART II
Prepared by:
Gunn’s Leadership Consulting Services March 2, 2010
Tri-County Regional School Board
School Utilization Study
Part II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Immersion at Barrington Municipal High School (BMHS)……………… 3
Early French Immersion at Plymouth School ……………………..……. 3
Arcadia Consolidated School ……………..……………………………….. 5
Lockeport Regional High School (LRHS)…………….…………………… 8
Islands Consolidated School (ICS)……………...………………………… 13
Digby Neck Elementary School (DNES)...... 15
Maple Grove Education Centre (MGEC)
and Meadowfields Community School (MCS)…………...... 16
Tri-County Regional School
School Utilization Study
Part II
This School Utilization Study has been carried out and reported in 2 parts. The Part I Report was received by the Tri-County Regional School Board at its monthly meeting on February 2, 2010. The background to the Study is presented in the Part I Report. As indicated then, more time was needed to carry out further analysis on the delivery of French Immersion and on the utilization of several schools not referenced in Part I.
Immersion at Barrington Municipal High School (BMHS)
The Part I report included a conclusion that Early Immersion at Evelyn Richardson Memorial Elementary School (ERMES) should be discontinued because of the very low enrolments. A follow-up note is provided here about the effects of this on the Immersion programs at Barrington Municipal High School----the students of ERMES attend BMHS after Grade 6.
Not offering Early Immersion at ERMES would affect Immersion at BMHS in at least 2 ways. Most obviously, it would no longer be necessary to combine Early Immersion with Late Immersion in the same classrooms. This year, the Early Immersion class in Grade 7 (4 students) is combined with the Late Immersion class (15 students). This combined class will have to continue through Grade 8 and 9. Given the very small enrolments presently at ERMES, other combined classes will be required in the next few years.
Generally speaking and without getting into a detailed explanation, combining Early Immersion and Late Immersion classes is not advisable. It may be the best or only option in some unique circumstances, but it surely adds complexity and a potential for difficulties compared to delivering Early and Late Immersion in separate classes.
The second effect on the Immersion program at BMHS may become evident over the next few years. If Early Immersion is discontinued at ERMES, it is reasonable to expect that the enrolments in the Late Immersion at BMHS will increase. When parents no longer have the choice of Early Immersion, they may choose Late Immersion when their children start Grade 7. The enrolments in Late Immersion at BMHS are such that 10 to 15 students could be added in each class.
Early French Immersion at Plymouth School
As indicated in Part I, Plymouth School has a relatively high percentage of its students enrolled in Early Immersion. This year, 54% of the students in Grade P-6 are in Immersion and this percentage has been consistent from year-to-year. For example, in the previous 2 school years, the percentages of the P-6 students in Immersion were 52% and 50%. Plymouth School serves a predominantly Francophone population and most of the families who choose Early Immersion meet the entitlement requirements for enrolment in a CSAP school. There is no Early Immersion in Grade 7 -9 because the Immersion students transfer in Grade 7 to Ecole secondaire Par-en-Bas under the jurisdiction of the Conseil scholaire acadien provincial (CSAP).
The reason for raising a concern about Immersion in this school is related to the very small class sizes in both the Immersion and English programs. The elementary grade classes are small in both English and Immersion. This year, the enrolments per grade in both, range from 6 to 11 (except in the case of 16 in Grade 6 Immersion). This means that combined classes are necessary in all grades and for both English and Immersion (except for the one case).
According to the 5-year enrolment history in Table 1, the total enrolment of Plymouth School dropped quickly by 24% since the previous school year, but the decline over the previous 4 years is 4%. This sudden decline was significant because 5 families moved out the area and several families transferred to a neighboring school.
Table 1: 5-Year Enrolment History, Plymouth School
2005-06 / 2006-07 / 2007-08 / 2008-09 / 2009-10232 / 229 / 217 / 222 / 168
The 10-year history in Table 2 for the Grade Primary enrolments confirms a fairly consistent enrolment since 2003-04, except for this year.
Table 2: 10-Year History Grade Primary Enrolment, Plymouth School
00-01 / 01-02 / 02-03 / 03-04 / 04-05 / 05-06 / 06-07 / 07-08 / 08-09 / 09-1029 / 29 / 31 / 24 / 27 / 21 / 18 / 21 / 23 / 15
It is very difficult to project the enrolment of this school accurately because of the recent rapid decline and the fact that students may transfer out of the school in significant numbers each year to access Immersion at Drumlin Heights Consolidated School or the French program at Ecole secondaire Par-en-Bas. At the very least in terms of a general projection, it seems reasonable to predict that the enrolment will show some decline over the next 5 years, depending on the number of transfers to the neighboring schools.
On the surface, one obvious conclusion about the very small Grade P-6 class sizes is that the classes would be a more manageable size and combined classes would be unnecessary if Early Immersion was not offered at the school. But a closer look uncovers a complication caused by the fact that most of the families of the Immersion students are entitled to a Francophone education under the jurisdiction of the Conseil scholaire acadien provincial.
If Immersion was no longer offered at Plymouth School, in all likelihood most of the families would send their children to Ecole secondaire Par-en-Bas in Grade Primary, instead of Grade 7 as they do now. A decision to discontinue Early Immersion at Plymouth School would very likely result in a loss of about half of the Grade P-6 students in the school.
Financially, if 60 students transferred to the CSAP, then the TCRSB would lose $300,000 to $500,000 in provincial revenue, eventually, depending on how the funding formula is applied. Under the present arrangement, a loss of revenue due to declining enrolment is gradual over a few years because of what is called a “declining enrolment” factor.
Not only would the TCRSB lose a significant amount of revenue if the Immersion students transferred, combined classes would still be required in the English classes at Plymouth School. Also, the total enrolment of the P-6 Grades in the school would be reduced by about half. A decision to discontinue Early Immersion would not address the concern constructively.
The following conclusion is based on the information presented above with particular weight given to the rather unique circumstance that over 50% of the Grade P-6 students, most of whom are from entitled francophone families, normally enroll in Early Immersion.
Conclusion 1
If the enrolment of Plymouth School declines significantly over the next few years, some difficult decisions may be necessary, but under the present circumstances, cancelation of the Early Immersion program cannot be justified.
Plymouth School is given more attention in the next section because of its close proximity to Arcadia Consolidated School.
Arcadia Consolidated School
Arcadia Consolidated School (ACS) is a Grade P-6 elementary school with an enrolment of 244. Its 5-year enrolment history is provided in Table 3.
Table 3: 5-Year Enrolment History, ACS
2005-06 / 2006-07 / 2007-08 / 2008-09 / 2009-10252 / 243 / 238 / 245 / 244
As evident from the data, the enrolment has been quite stable over the past 5 years. It has declined by only 3%, compared to 14% for the school system over the same period.
This stability is confirmed from another perspective. The average Grade Primary enrolment for the past 5 years is 33 (with a range from 29 to 41) and 41 is this year’s enrolment. Based on this historical data, it is reasonable to expect that the enrolment of ACS will decline very little, if at all, over the next 5 years.
An elementary school with an enrolment the size of Arcadia Consolidated should have no problem in ensuring that the programs and student services are delivered effectively and efficiently, without the restrictions or inflexibility experienced by much smaller schools.
If this is the case and the enrolment is stable, why is this school singled out in this study?
It must be emphasized that no evidence whatsoever was found to indicate a problem with the delivery of the program and student services. The concern is not educational in nature. The concern lies strictly with the facility.
Arcadia Consolidated celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. It is an old building. Based on a building condition study by the MacDonnell Group in 2003 and on the professional opinion of board staff now, the estimated cost of the needed repairs and preventative maintenance is in the range of $400,000 to $500,000. Although there is no sense of urgency about major repairs, replacement of the heating system, some windows and the exterior doors should be included in the capital maintenance plan of the board over the next few years.
There is one urgent matter in terms of a major capital addition to the facility. A new gymnasium is necessary to enable the school to deliver the full educational program as it should be. A rough estimate of cost lies in the area of $2,000,000.00. The school and its community have been putting forward a strong case for a new gymnasium for many years now.
Another property upgrade concern is noteworthy. There is a problem with congestion of bus, vehicular and pedestrian traffic in accessing the school that cannot be solved easily.
The obvious solution under normal circumstances when a school of this size needs repair and renovation is to include the school in the capital improvement plan of the school board and province. But in the case of Arcadia Consolidated, a unique circumstance has been a stumbling block.
Plymouth School borders on Arcadia Consolidated School and is located less than 5 Kilometers away. As a facility, it had a major upgrade 11 years ago which included a new gymnasium. The school has a capacity of 300 students and its enrolment has been about 220 in recent years, except for this school year. With its present enrolment of less than 200, Plymouth School is underutilized.
This circumstance raises the question about whether or not Arcadia Consolidated should be closed and at least some of its students be housed at Plymouth School. If the Early Immersion remains at Plymouth School, then only about 100 students could be added. The other 150 Arcadia students would have to be accommodated elsewhere.
One option to create more space at Plymouth School would be to change its configuration to P-6 and have the junior high students (43 this year) attend Drumlin Heights Consolidated School instead. This would help some, but still it would not be possible to house all the Arcadia students at Plymouth School. About 100 would have to be housed elsewhere.
The other neighboring school for Arcadia Consolidated will be the newly configured P-8 school in Yarmouth. The enrolment projected for this new configuration when completion of the renovations is expected is about 450 for P-8 with 300 in P-6. Adding another 100 or 150 students from Arcadia Consolidated would be possible only if another 4 or 6 classrooms are added in the planned renovation. This would add a significant amount to the cost of the renovation; easily over $1,000,000 and possibly as much as $2,000,000.
Other factors are important in this discussion. The catchment areas of Arcadia Consolidated and Plymouth School are very large. To have the elementary students in the combined area attend either Plymouth School or the P-8 in Yarmouth would create an extraordinarily large catchment area for young children and their families. It would be especially large for the families from the ACS catchment area who live in the communities a long distance from the Town of Yarmouth.
From a strictly numerical analysis of enrolment data and available classroom space, Arcadia Consolidated School could be closed and its students could be dispersed to one of 3 schools---the P-8 in Yarmouth, Drumlin Heights Consolidated and Plymouth School. But a major financial benefit in terms of operating cost should not be expected for a couple of reasons, aside from the added capital cost of adding 4-6 classrooms in the P-8 renovation in Yarmouth. The likelihood of revenue being lost when Immersion students transfer to CSAP and the loss of the property services, “square footage” revenue through the closure of the school would diminish any overall financial advantage to the TCRSB. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect that a detailed analysis of the student transportation requirements would show little advantage, if any, because of the necessity of transporting the Plymouth junior high students to Drumlin Consolidated and transporting the ACS students to Plymouth and Yarmouth.
For the purposes of this discussion, it seems sufficient to observe that achieving a major financial benefit to the TCRSB by closing Arcadia Consolidated, in terms of annual operating cost, is questionable. The amount of any financial benefit would require a detailed analysis. Such an analysis has not been carried out by this consultant because of the position taken below.