If the public has anything to say about it, and last night they did, there isn’t much support for the preferred option of closing three North Bay Secondary Schools and building a new one.

A Near North District School Board staff report is recommending that Widdifield, West Ferris Secondary and Chippewa Secondary Schools all be closed and a new super school be built at the Chippewa site.

After the school board presented it’s reasons for this option, which include lower enrolment, expensive repairs, surplus space and less government funding, the community gave it’s take.

Sema Chaudhry says North Bay doesn’t need a super school of over 2000 students.

She says her high school in Toronto was 900 students and that was considered big.

Chaudhry points out there are no schools that are expected to have 2000 students in the entire province.

She suggests a more modest idea is to have two Grade 7-12 schools with one being new and the other being West Ferris.

The facilitator of the Accomodation Review Process, Paul Addie says the 30 member ARC committee has it’s work cut out for it, in a number of areas cited in the presentations.

Those include traffic issues, safety at a larger school and what programs will be offered at a much larger school.

Board officials say enrolment will decrease by 18 per cent over the next decade, surplus space will increase and renewal needs at current schools will cost $150-Million.

Mayor Al McDonald says North Bay needs a secondary school in the southern part of the city, pointing out it’s a key to development

He says the city does not support the super school option.

The ARC is also looking at closing 3 elementary schools including E.T. Carmichael, E.W. Norman and WJ Fricker and building a new school at the WJ Fricker site.

There will be at least one more public meeting in May and at least 2 ARC working group meetings next month and again in April.

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