A heated exchange between parents and the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board took place Tuesday night as they tackle the issue of closing schools.
A decision was made to close St. Gregory school by the end of June, and send students to St. Pius X. The board also kept with the director of education's recommendations to keep St. Peter open as a JK to Grade 8 school.
Windsor police were on hand to keep the peace and near the end of the meeting escorted a man out for yelling and throwing papers. Parents at the meeting were largely opposed to the director's plan, asking for more time before a final decision.
In east Windsor, St. Maria Goretti will close at the end of the school year. The boundary for St. John Vianney to include St. Maria Goretti students east of Lauzon Road and have St. Rose expanded their boundaries to include students on the west side. St. Maria students will have a one-time opportunity to choose which of the two schools they prefer to attend.
Both St. Rose and St. Jules will transition to JK to Grade 6 schools – Grade 7 to 8 students will attend the new Corpus Christi Middle School at the F.J. Brannan site. However, once construction of a new school at the current St. Bernard school is complete, St. Jules will close and students will transition to that location.
In central Windsor, the board will continue to pursue capital funding from the province to build a new Catholic Central High School at the former Windsor Arena location or at an alternative site.
Tabs will be kept on enrollment at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School. If it falls past a certain threshold students will be transitioned to St. Angela School.
