Avon Maitland District School Board Looks at Pupil Accommodation & Enrolment Projections
by Bob Montgomery
Avon Maitland District School Board trustees got an update on the Board's Pupil Accommodation and Enrolment projections at this week's board meeting.
Superintendent of Corporate Services Cheri Carter says the numbers are consistent with last year, maybe with a bit more growth this year, and she says that's not a surprise given the growth they've experienced over the last couple of years, particularly at the elementary level. She adds, the report from Watson & Associates Economists suggested that immigration will continue to drive that increase.
Carter also points out the growth is focused on two areas in particular. “North Perth is the biggest, fastest growth, which we knew and Stratford is another area. We do have some little pockets too, on the elementary side almost in all areas with the possible exception of Wingham and while it's not growing, it's not declining as much as they had expected it to.”
Carter says North Perth is probably where they're feeling the most enrolment pressure. They did a boundary review there three years ago to address that to some degree, but their newest school has portables now and more are being added to accommodate all of the students in the area. They were expecting the growth in North Perth so it isn't a surprise and they expect it to continue.
The other major growth area is Stratford, but Carter says, the situation in Stratford is a little different from the situation in North Perth. “In Stratford we have growth in some areas but not in all areas. We have a couple of our schools in the city that are way over capacity and we have other schools that are under capacity and so we're trying to rectify that through the boundary review process.” Carter says they're in the middle of that process now and they hope to be able to present a proposal to the trustees later in March.
But she adds, the growth in Stratford will continue so that's a situation they'll have to monitor as well.
