School board hears good news on enrolment
Trustees on the current board of the Okanagan Skaha School District ended their term on a high note Monday with some good news on the enrolment front.
They heard the number of full-time equivalent students came in at 5,833 this year, up 15 from last year. Numbers do not include international or ConnectED students.
“Every year it fluctuates depending on who lives in the neighbourhood. Over the long term, the ministry has said we will see a very slow increase in student numbers, and I think over the last couple of years we’ve seen that,” said superintendent Wendy Hyer.
The 2018-19 year took a surprising turn with Summerland up 37 students and the regional district up eight, while the Penticton area lost 26 kids.
Trout Creek had an increase of 14 students this year for a total of 171 students, down from a high of 182 in 2015-16 — the year before it was nearly closed.
And three other elementary schools — Giant’s Head, Parkway, and Uplands — are currently not accepting transfers because they’re full.
In total, elementary schools in the district increased in enrollment by 33 students this year.
“I know in the last couple of (Wiltse) PAC meetings, they’ve been talking about how full their school has become since 2015-16,” said trustee Barb Sheppard, sharing with the board the concern parents have voiced with numbers at the school anticipated to continue to increase in the next year.
“We still have capacity,” replied Hyer. “They still have some empty classrooms there, so they still have room for growth.”
Middle schools increased in numbers by 72 students, with KVR currently closed to transfers due to being full with a total of 532 kids.
High school enrolment numbers are down. However, Hyer stated that isn’t unusual due to a significantly higher number of graduating students in the previous year. With smaller numbers seen in Grade 10 for 2018-19, she added, enrollment should balance out within the next couple of years.
Of the three local high schools, Summerland was the only one with an increase in students from the previous year, with a total of six new bodies.
Monday’s meeting was an emotional one, being the last such session for outgoing trustees Bill Bidlake, Bruce Johnson, Ginny Manning, Julie Planiden.
Manning and Planiden were both defeated in this month’s election, while Johnson did not stand for re-election and Bidlake vacated his seat in August in order to travel abroad.
“Despite our differences of opinions and our hopes, it’s a democracy and that’s what’s wonderful,” a tearful Johnson said in his closing remarks.
“I think we can all part not only as colleagues, but still as friends.”
The new board will be sworn in next week.