Trustees with the Edmonton Catholic School Board voted Tuesday night to close three of four schools that were on the chopping block in east-central Edmonton.
The board pointed towards low enrollment and high maintenance costs for the decision.
Students from two elementary schools, St. James and St. Brendan, along with St. Kevin Junior High will be moved into a new school.
Parents and community members in the Capilano area submitted over 120 letters to keep St. Gabriel Elementary open and five of the seven board trustees agreed.
Although the decision has been made to close the three schools, the actual closures won’t take place for a few years.
Those schools will be combined into a new Kindergarten to Grade 9 school to be built on the St. Brendan site – it will include spaces for about 650 students and is expected to open in 2016.
The province has already committed funding towards the new school; officials said construction could start as early as September.
With files from Veronica Jubinville
