A group of parents in the Outaouais is fighting to save a rural secondary school.

St. Michael's High School in Low, Que., is in danger of closing because of a $300,000 Western Quebec School Board deficit. (CBC)

About 90 students attend St. Michael's High School in Low, Que. But the Western Quebec School Board is dealing with a deficit of $300,000, and shutting down the school would save the board about $100,000 per year.

School board chairman Michael Chiasson said St. Michael's is old, not accessible by wheelchair and has too many teachers for the number of students there: about one for every 10 students.

"When you're over-financing a school to keep it alive, you are taking away from the other schools," Chiasson said.

'They've just got to give us a chance,' parent says

At a town hall meeting Saturday, parents showed up to voice their concerns about shutting down the school.

"It's a travesty," said Lorie Carroll, who also attended St. Michael's.

Lorie Carroll, who attended St. Michael's High School, says there are other ways to raise money for the school board than shutting down the school. (CBC)

If the school closes, she said her 12-year-old daughter would have to spend two hours per day on a bus to a different English school.

"I'm afraid that if she is forced to go to a larger school and travel that far, she will drop out. And I don't want to see that happen," Carroll said.

The school board will be holding public consultations, beginning in March, to allow parents to come up with ideas to save the school.

"There's fundraising. There are other ways to work around the money issues. They've just got to give us a chance," Carroll said.