Georgetown, P.E.I., residents worried about another school review

Residents of Georgetown, P.E.I., are once again worried about the future of their elementary school.

Georgetown Elementary is one of several schools across the province the government is reviewing.

Back in 2009, the school was slated to close, but the decision was reversed. At that time, the school had about 100 students. It now has 49, which according to government statistics, is the lowest enrolment in the province.

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Stacy Toms believes there's only one way this will end — with the closing of the school.

"I think the writing's on the wall unfortunately," she said. "I mean I hope not, I hope people can come together and we won't lose Georgetown school."

Toms and her husband moved from Ontario and have two small children, one who will be going to school next year.

'Best education possible'

"You should be able to get the best education possible from a small school, where you know your teachers, where there's only a dozen students in your class."

Toms, owner of the Maroon Pig Art Gallery and Sweet Shop, said losing a school will have an economic impact on the town, as well.

"A lot of the teachers shop here," she said. "It'll be a big impact, for us especially."

Georgetown Mayor Lewis Lavandier said the town has been "down this road before," and given the school operates at just 28 per cent capacity, he's not surprised it's under review.

But he's hoping for other solutions.

Certainly it's a tremendous blow to a municipality, a community, when you lose your school.– Georgetown Mayor Lewis Lavandier

"Certainly it's a tremendous blow to a municipality, a community, when you lose your school," he said.

"There's a lot of schools that are overcrowded, could we not possibly take some of the students from schools that are overcrowded and bus them to the communities that are underutilized? It could be a win-win for everybody."

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