Future of Hillcrest School at the heart of upcoming public meeting

• Future of Moncton's Hillcrest School under study, says superintendent
• Proposal to replace west end school in works in Moncton

This came after an Ernst and Young report on the condition of Bessborough, whichfound upgrading it would cost about70 per cent of the cost of anew building.

"Hillcrest and Bessborough are very close geographically," saidNorval McConnell,a member of the council.

"They share families, and enrolmenthas been dropping, particularly at Hillcrest but also at Bessborough."

The public meetingis taking place at 7 p.m. atHillcrestSchool to gather public feedback.

Deciding future location

Based on information gathered by the parentschoolsupport committee, McConnell said a large portion of parents faviour combining the two schools. Another large portion is opposed.

Meanwhile, some parents are undecided until they know where a new school would be built.

Options for a location include the currentBessboroughSchool property or a site near Centennial Park.

"There's always going to be dilemmas with decisions like this," McConnellsaid. "At the end of it all, does a new facility enhance the learning in the west end?"

The district education council will make a recommendation toBrian Kenny, the minister of education, in Novemberon whether the two schools should combine. The minister will then make a decision inJanuary.

McConnell said the province has a scoring systemitfollows to determine which school projects should move ahead.

"If you're closing two schools to replace with onefrom a budgeting standpoint, that's a good thing."

"Our [council] recommendation will be based on what the parents request."

There were originally six schools in the west end of Moncton, but because of a drop in enrolment, there are now two.