Regardless of where they live or where their children attend school, parents in the Province should be confident that the school is able to offer a quality program; one that will enable students to graduate and meet the entrance requirements for postsecondary institutions. In many cases, small schools can offer only the core program, while other larger schools are able to offer a broader, more varied program of studies to the students.

What will be done about schools in isolated communities?

Government will continue to provide the additional teachers necessary for schools to offer a core program in all schools which need to exist. But, how do we determine which schools need to exist? In other words, what is a viable school? Clearly, schools in isolated communities must continue to exist for as long as there are students living in these communities. But in other regions of the Province, we must ensure consistency in deciding which schools need to exist. It will, therefore, be necessary to develop provincial guidelines and to make them part of reform legislation.

How will enrolment decline affect schools?

Under a reformed system, it is our belief that in order to provide adequate resources for a high quality educational program, parents and school boards should agree to close schools that clearly duplicate educational services within an area. Other schools may have to consolidate if enrolment declines to the point where the quality of education that can be provided diminishes. Government believes it is inappropriate to provide additional resources when a better learning opportunity for students is available nearby.

It is also Government's belief that many parents will want to ensure that primary students (i.e., K-3) are educated as close to home as possible. With declining enrolments, this may mean more multigraded classes. We know that educational services to students in Grades K-9 can be provided through multigrading. While some may question that increased multigrading might be necessary, this method of delivery is widely accepted across the world as a means to provide a quality education to small numbers of students.

The skills our children need to be successful are changing. Our graduates have to be ready to compete on the "world stage" with the best students from other provinces and countries. So, it is critical that all young people in this Province receive a quality high school program. To achieve this goal, however, some high school students may have to be bused longer distances. Because the number of students is declining at such a rapid rate, school boards will not have the teaching resources to offer broad high school programs in all high schools that currently exist. Parents may have to choose between maintaining a minimum high school program in their community or busing their children to a larger school that is able to offer a wider range of program options which would provide better opportunities for students.

The criteria or guidelines for school viability could include issues related to:

the number of schools in the vicinity to serve the student population;

the ability of a school to meet minimum high school graduation requirements;

busing options/distance from other schools;

the degree to which the community is isolated; and

other factors that may emerge.