Chignecto school board to vote to delay 3 school closures

The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board will vote this week on a request to delay the plan to close three schools for one year.

The board has voted to close Maitland District, Wentworth Consolidated and River John Consolidated schools in about a year’s time.

Nova Scotia Education Minister Karen Casey is asking the school board to change its plan and delay the closure for another year, until at least 2016.

Valrie Suidgeest went to the school in River John when she was a child. She said she would like her son and daughter to do the same.  

"I'd like to see my children grow up and go to school as long as they can in their home community," she said.   

Suidgeest said going to a smaller school has its advantages.

"It's a small community. The older students are helpful to the younger students, they know the teachers, they know the students, they know the volunteers that come in from the community," she said.

Suidgeest knows money is tight but she says the board needs to look beyond just dollars and cents.

"If you're looking at the finances of it, maybe there's some excess space but look at what it gives our kids," she said.

Board members will vote on Casey’s request to delay the closure on Wednesday.