Catholic board sees enrolment drop

An enrolment report presented to the Northwest Catholic District School Board at its monthly meeting here Tuesday night showed a substantial decrease since the last report in October.
The board lost 12.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) students—or 18 actual ones—among its five schools between Oct. 31, 2003 and March 31, 2004.
By far, the largest decrease was seen in St. Joseph’s School in Dryden, which lost 14.5 FTE students, or 19 actual ones.
Superintendent of Education Al Cesiunas attributed this large decline to the recent mill closure in that town.
“We are now starting to see the effects of the mill layoffs in Dryden,” Cesiunas said. “Families are now vacating the Dryden area.”
Sacred Heart School in Sioux Lookout lost 1.5 FTE students, or two actual ones, and St. Michael’s School in Fort Frances lost 0.5 FTE students (one actual student).
Two of the board’s schools saw a slight increase in enrolment. Both Our Lady of the Way in Stratton and St. Francis School here saw an increase of two students (both FTE and actual).
Also at Tuesday night’s meeting, the board looked over the Ministry of Education’s review of the completeness of its Special Education Plan.
The ministry stressed “the feedback is not to be construed as a commentary on the quality of special education programs and services described in your plan.”
Rather, the feedback “focuses on whether the completeness of the information provided in the board’s plan has met the standards contained in the ministry’s policy document, ‘Standards for School Boards’ Special Education Plans.’”
The local board received a positive rating in all 19 standards set out by the ministry.
“This is a very detailed plan,” the review read. “There is actually more information than is required by the standards.”
“Special Education co-ordinator Donna Dykalski has done a wonderful job in satisfying the needs of the ministry,” said trustee Harold Huntley, who also sits on the Special Education Advisory Committee.
“We’re pleased, as a committee, that everything went so well.”
Another item discussed Tuesday night was the possibility of offering Catholic secondary education in communities where the board operates.
An in-depth report on the subject was commissioned in 1998, and Education Director John Madigan prepared a summary of that report for the information of trustees.
“The concept has been discussed and explored in the past . . . and the conclusion has been that ‘it’s a marginal proposition at best,’” Madigan wrote. “Sufficient enrolment was the most fundamental consideration.”
The report examined three possible options, including full Catholic secondary programs in board-owned facilities or shared facilities, a partial extension to encompass Grades 9 and 10 in a junior high school setting, and Catholic secondary religion courses offered in partnership with the local public board.
“The challenge for the Northwest Catholic DSB is to determine which option is ‘doable’ in each community,” the report read.
Board chair Gerald Rousseau recommended the trustees hold a full discussion of the options at a committee of the whole meeting in September—after the budget process and the interview process for the new director of education were completed.
“We need to see if circumstances have changed [since the 1998 report] and see just where we want to go,” Rousseau noted.
It was suggested administration come up with some figures regarding possible costs for running a Catholic secondary program.
“It’s a very complex matter. We really need to know how many students we’re going to have,” said Superintendent of Business Chris Howarth.
“It’s like a dog chasing its tail,” he added. “I don’t know what to crunch right now because I don’t know what to expect.”
“We have to have the courage to make the commitment to make that a part of our mission and a part of our vision,” said Dryden trustee John Borst.
“It’s important that you first look at the principle of what it is we are truly about,” he stressed.
“We should focus our attention on our purpose and our vision for Northwestern Ontario and the Northwest Catholic District School Board before we get into a discussion of models and costs.”
The board set a tentative date of Sept. 17 for the committee of the whole meeting to discuss the subject further.