School closure talk 'incredibly unpopular' in Windsor or anywhere else

Any discussion of a potential school closing makes some people upset, but an education advocate says it's not a process that a school board takes lightly.

The Greater Essex County District School Board is eyeing the possibility of closing three elementary schools in Windsor.

The board has proposed undertaking a review of this scenario, which if it were to become a reality, would see the city's Hugh Beaton, Prince Edward and Queen Victoria public schools closed.

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Annie Kidder, the executive director of the People for Education, said there are various reasons why boards choose to consider a school closure.

Money is a big part of these decisions, but so are enrolment numbers, which Kidder said are increasingly influential in determining how much funding goes to Ontario schools.

In any case, Kidder said it's not something a board looks to as its first choice.

"It's hard to believe that any board would ever pick closing a school over anything else because it's an incredibly unpopular decision," she told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning in an interview.

'Recognizing how bad it feels'

School boards also have to get approval from the province when it comes to determining if a school would cost more to repair than it would to rebuild.

"The province actually comes in and checks that," said Kidder. "You can't just decide that all by yourself, there's a whole process to make that happen."

Ultimately, Kidder said when a board makes a decision to close a school, that is a difficult process to stop. And that can be hard for parents to accept.

Kidder said it's important for boards to listen to the concerns of parents, so they can be best supported when that process unfolds.

"It's recognizing how bad it feels and how important those feelings are and then the listening about how do we plan together for this new space," she said.