Essex residents won't give up fight to save Harrow High

People from the Town of Essex are still hoping to reverse a decision by school board trustees to close Harrow District High School at the end of this school year.

Some are planning to attend Tuesday night's school board meeting.

"We are sending a couple of representatives from our working committee and we're going to sign up on the speakers list in appeal to the Board of Education to see if they will put forward a notice of motion for the next meeting to keep Harrow high school open for another three years," said Sherry Bondy, a councillor with the town.

The high school had had low enrolment, which factored into the trustees' decision to close it.

The Harrow District High School website shows it has typically had between 300 and 350 students in recent years.

Statistics show that Harrow had a student population in October 2014 that was just 52.5 per cent of its capacity, Bondy says the school board aims to have 95 per cent enrolment.

Bondy says the community could work to find ways to increase the numbers.

"Closing Harrow high school doesn't solve any problems long term," said Bondy. "Parents will be less likely to support their children in after school programs because of the busing and because they'd have to pick up the students."

She says many students will also be affected in their after school and co-op programs.

"It'll affect co-op placements in our community because right now Harrow high school is so walkable to so many students they can leave school half way through, walk to a co-op and catch the bus home. So many things are going to change if our high school closes and I don't think we've had enough time to look at the dynamics here."

Bondy says the community will hold fundraisers in order to make up for any funding shortfalls.