Hillcrest parents have been left with a decision to make, will they move forward to be a part of a brand new school with Bessborough or just stay put?
According to studies, the 62 year old school is expected to see a continued decline in student enrolment. It has a capacity for over 300 students, but currently only have around 160.
As one parent told me, there are both pros and cons to merging with Bessborough in a new west end school.
Mary Beth Orozco has three children, one who currently attends Hillcrest, and two others who graduated from there, “I went to Bessborough from grades 1 to 9. I do have a love for that school, but I don’t want to lose Hillcrest. I don’t want to lose our personality and just be absorbed into a bigger school. I want our Hillcrest kids to be able to stand out.”
Orozco says Bessborough does have a lot of programs that Hillcrest can’t offer because it is a smaller school, “Bessborough has better sports teams, because they have more kids to pull from, but at Hillcrest, everyone gets to play a sport, because we only have 30 kids in the middle school going out for the basketball team. So every kid has a chance to shine.”
She also notes, that her child will be leaving Hillcrest next year, so this won’t affect her, but there are also other factors that must be taken into account, “We live in the neighbourhood. What are they going to do with the building? Are they going to put apartments in here? Our property value, all of that, and this great little area we have here is going to change if the school leaves.”
Anglophone East District Education Council Chair Harry Doyle says parents should view this as an opportunity, because if they vote to stay at Hillcrest, and a health and safety risk arises, or if the province decides to close the school, they may not have the choice as to where the students will be moved to.
The Hillcrest Parent School Support Committee will meet again next Monday night and based on votes from parents, will make a decision.
