Parents of students attending two south side schools are nervously waiting to hear what Edmonton Public Schools will do – as both are bursting at the seams.
Esther Starkman School, and Johnny Bright School both have students from Kindergarten to Grade 9 – but are dealing with overcrowding.
Administrators at Esther Starkman School have had to get creative with their solutions – almost every bit of available space is being used for classes, with some teachers instructing their students in the re-purposed staff room and the library.
Portable classrooms have already been installed, and gave the school some relief for a short time – however, the population has continued to grow – and officials said the school is operating at its absolute maximum.
“We have a finite capacity, you can’t go beyond that,” Lorne Parker with Edmonton Public Schools said. “We have a demand that exceeds that.”
Now, the school board is exploring all possible solutions – and officials are warning some may not like the outcome.
Some of the options include changing school boundaries, removing grades from the schools, and starting a lottery, or application system to enroll.
Other solutions include dropping the ‘sibling rule’ – a rule that means if one child is enrolled, their younger brother or sister is guaranteed entrance.
Officials with Edmonton Public Schools told CTV News a final decision will be made in early March.
While the provincial government is expected to table next year’s budget on March 7, a capital plan will also be released.
In the past, the province committed to building fifty new schools, however, as recently as last week the Education Minister wouldn’t say whether that commitment would be honoured.
With files from Serena Mah
