Members of the Strait Regional School Board have voted to close Canso Academy. (CBC)

Members of the Strait Regional School Board in eastern Nova Scotia have voted to close Canso Academy.

During a special meeting on Thursday night, board members voted 10 to 1 to permanently shut down the public high school.

Students at the school will be transferred to the Fanning Education Centre in nearby Hazel Hill as early as the 2013-2014 school year.

A transition plan must be drafted by the principals of the two schools and any necessary additions or renovations to Fanning Education Centre — which is currently a primary to Grade 8 school — must be completed before the Canso Academy students can move in.

Canso Academy was among three schools under review for closure, along with West Richmond Education Centre in Evanston and Rev. H.J. MacDonald in Heatherton.

The school, which was built to accommodate 400 students, has an enrolment of 80 and the projected enrolment was expected to be even lower.

The Strait Regional School Board was looking at three options for the school: keeping it open, moving the students to Fanning Education Centre — just out of town — or busing the students to Guysborough Academy, which is about 50 kilometres away.