The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board hired 41 new teachers for the 2016-2017 school year.
Enrollment at the school board is steadying with 12,985 students enrolled so far this year compared to 13,021 last year.
Executive Superintendent of Human Resources Terry Lyons says that's good news because they expected enrollment to be down by 800 students.
"This is the first time our Grade 9's have outnumbered our Grade 10's and in the elementary panel, our JK enrollment is greater than our SK enrollment . So those are all positive signs moving forward that hopefully, we'll get to that point where enrollment starts to grow again and we'll start to hire again," says Lyons.
The school board hired 24 secondary school teachers and 17 elementary school teachers. Lyons expects that number could increase by the time the final re-organization happens on September 23. He also anticipates there will be no teachers on lay-off this year while last year there were 70 teachers laid off. Lyons says many of the new hires are for increased enrollment in the french-immersion programs offered at the board.
