Greater Victoria school trustees are set to vote Monday on enrolment priorities that will guide the district as it opens more classrooms.
The issue has generated a significant response, with many parents expressing concern about keeping children in the same schools as their siblings, so a large crowd is expected for the discussion.
The district expects the number of students to rise to 21,000 from 19,000 over the next decade.
More classrooms will also be needed because of last year’s Supreme Court of Canada decision that restored B.C. teachers’ 2002 contract language and called for smaller class sizes.
Seven district schools were closed between 2003 and 2007 as enrolment dropped, and after the court decision the board considered reopening closed schools.
Edith Loring-Kuhanga, the board’s chairwoman, said it was quickly determined that the schools could not be reopened in a short time frame.
A list of priorities to be considered Monday has students who are already enrolled in the top spot, followed by catchment-area siblings, other catchment-area students and non-catchment-area siblings.
One parent awaiting the board’s decision is Ann Klein-Morgenstern, who has a daughter in Grade 1 at Braefoot Elementary and a four-year-old daughter.
“It is very much a priority that both our girls go the same school, in part because I think the adjustment for the younger one to school will a lot better with an older child,” she said.
Klein-Morgenstern said that when the family moved to the Island a year and a half ago, and the catchment school, Lake Hill Elementary, didn’t have room. Braefoot Elementary turned out to be the answer, even when space later became available at Lake Hill.
Loring-Kuhanga said the enrolment issue is clearly an emotional one.
“We’re talking about kids and their lives and their family lives,” she said. “I think it’s an emotional issue not only for the students and their families, but it’s also an emotional issue for the board.”
Loring-Kuhanga said there could be some short-term pain for long-term gain.
Enrolment issues have been evaluated over 10 months by a committee that includes two students and four parents.
Tom Ferris, the board’s vice-chairman, said the board realizes that having siblings in the same schools is important for families.
He said the enrolment discussion has settled down, but continues to generate communication from parents and should bring many of them to Monday’s meeting.
“I think some of the steam is out of the balloon, to some extent, but I think there will be a lot people there,” he said. “We’re still getting emails.”
Enrolment rules are clearly important to parents, Ferris said.
“It’s totally understandable that people would be concerned about this issue, because people often are planning far ahead,” he said.
Ferris said the priorities determined Monday will not be implemented until the 2018-19 school year.
“There’s a whole year that you’ve got a bit of a cushion to think about this,” he said.
