By Stephen Brun stephen.brun@peicanada.com The Eastern School District is expecting a letter from the Cardigan Home and School Association requesting Superintendent Sandy MacDonald consider keeping Grade 7 and 8 classes at the community’s consolidated school. One of the recommendations in Mr MacDonald’s School Organization Plan, released last January, was that Grade 7 and 8 students at Cardigan Consolidated be rezoned to Montague Intermediate by the school year beginning September 2010. This fall, students in those grades will have the option to attend either Cardigan or Montague Intermediate. Cardigan Home and School president Stacey Newell confirmed the association is writing to the district to ask Mr MacDonald not to rezone those students next year. The superintendent said once the letter is received the district will inform the Home and School that the parents and students will have the choice between the two schools this fall and a public consultation period will be held on any rezoning plans. “We remind them we haven’t removed the Grade 7 and 8s yet and for rezoning I have to make a presentation to the board just like the presentation (on school closure recommendations) this past year,” Mr MacDonald said. “If the public makes presentations we may hear a suggestion that’s better than the one we have. Some of the students may be getting to the age that they may want to go where their friends are going.” Mr MacDonald said he would begin compiling the rezoning report in October 2009 and present it to the board by the following December. There is a six-week public consultation period for rezoning issues which would likely take place in January and February 2010 before the board would vote to accept or reject the proposals. Before the 2008-2009 school year, Grade 7 and 8 students at Rollo Bay and Eastern Kings Consolidated were offered a similar option to attend Souris Consolidated if they chose. All of the students in those grades at Rollo Bay opted to attend the Souris school, while about one third of the Grade 7 and 8 students at Eastern Kings took the option.