About 200 concerned parents gathered at Lindsay Place High School in Pointe-Claire Thursday night for a meeting about the future of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.
Faced with declining enrolment, the board could decide to close some schools as early as next year -- a possibility that has many parents feeling helpless and frustrated.
"You give funds to a school, you start a whole community, and then you're yanked out," said Corinne Keiser, a mother who attended the meeting.
Marcus Tabachnick, chairman of the Lester B. Pearson School Board, said any decisions will be based on partially on feedback from parents.
"How can we serve kids better?" he asked. "How can we serve you as a community better? How can we use our buildings in ways that enhance your kids' learning?"
The board is losing an average of 600 students every year. As a result, six schools were closed in 2005.
"It was a lot more stressful for the kids than people realize ... it was a lot of changes for them," said parent Sharry Gouel.
Statistics from the board show that it's losing about 20 percent of potential students to French and private schools.
"It's a shopping society," said kindergarten teacher Ann Tellier. "We shop for schools, we shop for programs, we shop for what's best for our kids. The school board has to find out what the parents are looking for."
School commissioners will meet with parents' committees over the next few months to discuss possible solutions.
The board will make its final decision on school closures in December.
