by The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board has turned down a proposal to turn George D. Lewis School into a hub school.
The rejection means the Louisbourg school will close at the end of this school year.
The Board agreed to look at the hub school proposal even though George D. Lewis was one of 17 schools slated to close.
The hub school model sees parts of the school building rented out to community groups or government agencies.
But Board Chair Lorne Green says the Louisbourg group’s task was setup for failure from the beginning because the Education Department hasn’t given a lot of thought to its hub school guidelines.
The Board hired Deloitte Incorporated to provide an independent review of the Louisbourg proposal.
It found the proposal didn’t satisfy the requirement to demonstrate financial sustainability over a five to ten-year period and didn’t include firm funding commitments from potential tenants, donors or government agencies.
Meanwhile, George D. Lewis Hub School Society spokesperson Brett Hanham says they’ll now meet to discuss their next move.