A series of public hearings began Tuesday night aimed at making the Lester B. Pearson School Board more efficient.
Representatives from nine different schools and groups offered up new ideas to a full house at Verdun elementary.
“These three nights of public hearings are going to allow us to clarify all the ideas that have come in from our community,” said Lester B. Pearson School Board chair Suanne Stein Day. “We've received over 70 briefs so far, and make sure we understand their priorities, their concerns and their ideas.”
Just one of the many issues the board is dealing with: dropping enrolment.
“We even had two elementary schools say we are recognizing today's realities and we think you should merge our two schools,” said Stein Day.
Others came to fight for keeping their schools as they are.
“We worry. It's a community school full of fantastic teachers and staff and we don't want to see that school be changed,” said Malene Bodington, a parent at Orchard elementary School in LaSalle.
From e-learning to transportation issues to figuring out how to attract new students, 23 groups will present to the board for three consecutive nights.
“I'm sure not everyone is going to get what they want but hopefully there will be some sort of compromise,” said parent Diane Keener.
The Lester B. Pearson board expects to act on recommendations from these hearings by the end of December.
