The Edmonton Public School District has changed attendance rules for a south side school to deal with overcrowding.

EPSB made a number of changes for the 2016-2017 school year at Michael Strembitsky School in the Summerside neighbourhood.

Starting in the new school year, the school will not offer kindergarten, and students in the Michael Strembitsky School attendance area will attend Satoo School on 85 Street and 17 Avenue, and will attend Grade 1 at the same school – starting Grade 2 at Michael Strembitsky in the 2018-2019 school year.

As a result, Grades 1 to 9 will be offered in 2016-2017, and Grades 2 to 9 the following school year.

Some attendance area boundaries have been redrawn as well:

  • Students in the northeast corner of Summerside (north and east of Stanton Drive and south of Ellerslie Road) will be redesignated to Ellerslie School starting next fall – the change applies to all students living in the area who currently attend Michael Strembitsky
  • Summerside South (south of Savaryn Drive and east of 88 Street) will be designated to Menisa School for grades Kindergarten to Grade 6 and to Dan Knott School for Grades 7 and 9
  • Students who don’t live in the attendance area for Michael Strembitsky School, and were not grandfathered in, will not be able to attend the school, in addition to out of district students from outside the city or Catholic-declared students

Officials said school bus service will be available for qualifying students, however, there will be a cost.

“There is a nominal cost because bussing is not completely covered by Alberta Education, so all parents that access bussing will be paying a fee,” Chris Wright with Edmonton public said.

School officials said the decisions were made after officials weighed a number of options – deciding these changes were the most effective.

“The plan we’re able to re-evaluate,” Wright said. “Ultimately, we would like to get the children and the grades back to [Michael] Strembitsky.”

However, some parents are not impressed with the changes.

“I have two small kids, one in kindergarten and one that’s supposed to go to kindergarten next year, and now we have to go to the Satoo area…which is very far from here,” Parent Arthy Geya said.

“I’m a bit mad, but we have no choice.”

With files from Nicole Weisberg and Amanda Anderson