Suburban schools shift students for space

Elk island public and catholic school authorities plan to rejig school boundaries in sherwood Park and shift students around to make better use of school space in the community where many buildings are too full and others are too empty.

At seven of Sherwood Park’s 15 public schools, student enrolment has hit or surpassed the buildings’ capacity while three of the schools don’t have enough students, said the coleaders of the Elk Island Public Schools “reimagining ”project which is holding public consultations on the issue.

The overpopulation of students is particularly pronounced at Lakeland Ridge School, a kindergarten to Grade 9 school in the northeast part of Sherwood Park, said project co-leader Karen Richardson.

In some of Sherwood Park’s mature neighbourhoods, the population has aged and there are few children in the area, said project co-leader Dale Gullek-son. “We have one high school, one elementary and one junior high where we’re probably in that average of a 70-per-cent utilization,” he said.

The school district is now holding public consultations that are expected to result in recommendations to school trustees early next year on how to best overhaul school boundaries.

That could include changes to school programing, but won’t include closures, Richardson and Gullekson said.

Elk Island Public Schools held consultations in February and March with parents, students and staff at the sherwood Park schools. School district staff are analyzing the information and holding more public meetings late next month as well as in the fall and winter. Parents have expressed concerns about large class sizes, overcrowded schools, the district’s “patchwork” of school boundaries, long bus rides for some students and the need for new schools especially in northeast Sherwood Park.