Student enrolment continues to slide and that isn’t good news for local public schools.
This year, there are 21,895 students in the Lambton Kent District School Board, with a school capacity utilization rate of 72%.
That represents an 11.2% enrolment decline over the past 10 years. Projections indicate the loss of another 621 students over the next 10 years, the board says.
Declining enrolment has a direct impact on provincial funding, the use of facilities, and number of programs students are offered.
Ontario placed a moratorium on school closures in June 2018 and said it would review the process. It’s not known when the new process will be announced.