The North Vancouver School Board voted Tuesday night to close two elementary schools to address a massive budget shortfall and declining enrolment.
Parents and community members packed into a standing-room only theatre at Sutherland Secondary to watch board members vote to close Plymouth and Blueridge Elementary Schools.
The school district will close the doors on Plymouth by the end of this school year, and Blueridge by 2013, or whenever a replacement school on the site of Seymour Heights Elementary is complete.
A third school, Fromme Elementary, was also on the chopping block Tuesday. The closure of Fromme did not pass a third reading, meaning that it will be dealt with at a future meeting.
Like school districts across the province, North Vancouver is proposing cuts to address a massive projected budget shortfall -- in this case, $6.7 million.
School enrolment has declined by almost 18 per cent in the district in the last eight years, and there are 2,400 empty student spaces in North Vancouver schools.
According to the district's budget proposal, the school district will save about $400,000 for each school it closes.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber
