It seems to be another year of growth for schools in the Comox Valley.
Assistant superintendent Geoff Manning updated trustees at the Sept. 28 board meeting on where the numbers were going through the first month of the school year.
He emphasized he did not want to get into specifics at that point because they were still waiting for the official count of enrolment.
Districts use the number as of Sept. 30, and the Ministry of Education bases its funding for operating grants on this number of students.
Manning though said School District 71 was showing an increase of about 100 students at the elementary level, 50 students at the secondary level and 150 at NIDES through the month. He noted the district has been growing over the last four years, but this year there were some surprises in terms of where the numbers were coming in versus what was projected earlier in the year.
“This year, we’re all over the map,” he said.
Some schools were close to what was expected, some were lower and some were far higher. The district though has been able to find spaces for almost all of the students at their schools.
“The schools have been able to accommodate most of the students,” he said.
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He added that the district long-range facilities plan will help them when it comes to planning in future years by providing some basis for where students are most likely to live and be going to school.
Board chair Sheila McDonnell said the growth in recent years was a “nice change” from years in which the district faced decline and budget cutbacks.
“It seems like we’re just bursting at the seams,” she said.
Still, the board members recognized there are logistical challenges that come with growth.
Trustee Janice Caton asked about housing, for example, and whether families moving around the district were finding difficulties in getting new accommodations, which then poses questions for school enrolments. She said she wanted the district to avoid situations where they will have to be considering boundary changes on a recurring basis.
Manning said housing is one issue outside of education that presents challenges for schools and enrolment, as is child care, though the biggest challenges were for new families to the district. He again stressed these issues will inform the long-term facilities plan.
“This is all going to be part of the conversation,” he said.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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