Parents of St. Agatha Catholic Elementary School students are upset after the Waterloo Catholic District School Board is once again talking about potentially closing it.
The school has fewer than one hundred students. Talk of closure has come up before -- most recently in 2014, when trustees ultimately decided to keep it open.
At the time, the board said it would not look at the matter for another five years.
John Shewchuk of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board says there are a number of factors that led to looking at the fate of the school.
If St. Agatha was to be closed, students could be shifted to Holy Rosary Catholic Elementary School in Waterloo or St. Clement Catholic Elementary School in St. Cleements.
However, one wing of Holy Rosary is slated for demolition because of dwindling enrollment there.
According to Shewchuk, provincial officials believe demolishing the wing would be cost-effective.
There are also repairs that need to be addressed in St. Agatha.
Shewchuk says “We have an aging school that requires a significant dollar value in repairs. Approximately two million dollars.”
He says a new school in the township will be considered in the future when the population in that area will support it. He says that is not likely for another 8 or 10 years.
Residents and Wilmot Township Mayor Les Armstrong are expressing their frustration with any suggestion the school could be closed.
