School boundary changes eyed as Peterborough population grows
The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is moving forward with accommodation plans for Peterborough by hosting its first community engagement meeting on April 17.
The open house, taking place at Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will provide community members the opportunity to review proposed accommodation strategies and offer feedback.
Administrative staff and trustees will be available to answer questions.
In addition to the feedback received at the in-person community engagement meeting, an electronic feedback option will also be available following the meeting to gather comments.
The meeting is part of the board’s long-term accommodation planning that began in 2020, partly in response to the significant amount of residential development taking place in the region.
Trustees were provided with an update on the plan in November that included accommodation pressures being experienced in various schools across the board.
Trustees supported a staff recommendation to begin the accommodation review process in the city and county of Peterborough. This includes a review of Peterborough secondary school boundaries including Kenner, which has space to accommodate more students, and Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute, which does not.
Board staff have been working to create possible strategies to balance enrolment. Proposed accommodation strategies will be shared with the board’s resource committee at its meeting on Wednesday.
In February, trustees approved a recommendation to address capacity pressures at Crestwood Secondary and Intermediate schools via grade changes.
Starting this September, Grade 7 students from Kawartha Heights and Westmount (English stream only) public schools will attend James Strath Public School for Grades 7 and 8. Students already attending Crestwood Intermediate will remain.
In addition to feedback gathered from the upcoming public meeting and online option, the board plans to hold a second engagement meeting in the fall to gather further information.
Staff plan to present recommendations to the board in December and, using a phased-in approach, changes are expected to begin taking place in September 2025.