The English Montreal School Board says it might be forced to close schools because of declining enrolment. At a meeting Tuesday night, school board officials said enrolment dropped by more than 900 students last year.
Until now, elementary schools have been hardest hit, but the board expects high schools will face the same problems in about five years time.
The E.M.S.B. says a number of factors are contributing to the drop in numbers in English schools in Montreal including Quebec's low birth rate and young families moving off island. However, the board says the main problem is Bill 104.
The law closed a loophole that allowed children, who were otherwise ineligible, to switch to an English public school after a year in an English private school in Quebec. The board is challenging that decision.
