The English Montreal School Board, its enrolment squeezed by urban flight and restrictive language laws, is taking out ads in nine French community newspapers in a bid to attract more students.
The ads are aimed at people who might not realize their children are eligible to enroll in English school. For example, a child can attend English school in Quebec if just one of their parents went to an English elementary school in the province.
Exodus
The EMSB lost nearly 1,000 students last year and it expects enrolment to fall by another 4,000 students in the next five years.
The board blames the exodus of English-speakers to the suburbs as well as Quebec's Bill 104, a law that closed a loophole in the language laws. The loophole allowed children who had spent just one year in an English private school to attend an English public school for the remainder of their school years.
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing a legal challenge of the bill but the law remains in effect pending a final ruling. EMSB spokesman Mike Cohen says Bill 104 costs his board dearly.
"We had about 400 kids a year that would get into the system through that (loophole)," Cohen told CTV News at Noon on Monday.
"Once they got in there, siblings were eligible as well. There was a domino effect."
Registration woes
Monday was registration day at EMSB schools but if the scene at Sinclair Laird elementary is any indication, more bad news is around the corner.
The school in Park Extension once had six grade 2 classes but now they have just one. The principal tells CTV that there's usually a lineup to register but only five people showed up on Monday morning.
