No room in school for local children

Editor: We feel that you should be aware of this issue that was brought up by a group of parents at the Central Okanagan Public Schools board meeting.

Here is the story from the perspective of our family.

I was left speechless this week when we found out that my oldest daughter would not be accepted into our local neighbourhood school, the very school located in the heart of the community that we have been a part of for seven years.

At Chute Lake Elementary School, for the 2017-18 school year, 40 kindergarten students have been admitted (all with older siblings) and 27 have been waitlisted.

In addition, there remains 33 students on a waitlist for Grades 1-6. This issue is much bigger than this as as it also affects future families and our community as a whole.

Chute Lake Elementary was built in 2009 and within two years required portables. It has been brought to our attention that the school was not built as large as originally planned, and clearly not even large enough to accommodate the short-term needs of this Upper Mission community at that time.

Since then, there have been numerous years where “overflow” students have been sent to Anne McClymont Elementary (AME).

Despite rapid growth in this community, in the last three years Kindergarten admittance has been steadily decreasing (three classes in 2015, to 2.5 classes in 2016, to two classes in 2017 with reduced class sizes).

We are not the only family very disappointed in the proposed solution for this, which is to open more space at AME.

Sending our kids to AME is simply a short-term solution.

With the high number of lots being developed in this area, we need more permanent spaces at CLE.

Some believe the new middle school will create more space. This school has been slated to open in 2019.

With no construction started to date, this date seems overly optimistic.

By the time this school opens, how many more children will be on waitlists, especially when considering the large number of lots being developed in the area?

Furthermore, how much longer will AME be able to accommodate this overflow? There are also extensive development plans for the AME catchment area (such as the Ponds and the Thompson Flats areas).

This not only impacts our young families. It is well known there is a major issue with traffic on Chute Lake Road, particularly during school drop-off hours.

How are these taxpaying residents going to feel about 27 more families on the road every morning, this year alone?

We are aware there are buses, but the reality is that many of these kids will be driven (remember, these are four- and five-year old children and none have older siblings).

Add to this the 33 students who are currently waitlisted for Grades 1-6 and you can see the impact on the community.

We are simply asking for a more permanent solution to add more space at CLE for our neighbourhood school. We want the best for our kids and our neighbourhood as a whole. In an area with such a strong sense of community and one that embraces it’s children and young families, it is a shame to see all new families rejected from the local school. It is simply time to make a change. Alanna and Mark Chambers,

Kelowna