Cape Breton protesters want new school for Dominion, Reserve Mines

Parents of students who attend MacDonald Elementary in Dominion and Tompkins Elementary in Reserve Mines held a march Monday morning to urge the province to build a new school in their area.

A schools review committee, which will be holding a public meeting tonight in Glace Bay, is leaning towards a recommendation that would see both locations closed and students move to a renovated Bridgeport School in Glace Bay.

About 60 protesters at Monday's rally are against the idea.

"It doesn't matter how many coats of paint you put on a building, it's still an old building," said Paul Prince, chair of the MacDonald Elementary school advisory committee.

Prince hopes the demonstration will be enough to sway the review committee. He wants it to change its position and instead recommend closing all three schools in favour of building a new centrally located education centre. 

The Cape Breton-Victoria School Board has said up to 19 schools in the jurisdiction may close due to dwindling student populations. A series of review committees have been meeting to discuss recommendations.

Parent Jillian Canova said it's vital to maintain a school in the immediate area because, like the post office and other community mainstays, local schools define the community.

"It's important to us that our kids grow up with the sense of community that we did," she said.

She said people are less inclined to move away when their kids are educated in their home community.

The purpose of Monday's march, Prince said, is to "show a strong clear message to the board and also to the minister of education that we want a new school."