To the editor,
Re: New NDSS is back on the list of school district capital plan requests, July 5.
As a parent of two school-aged children, I am pleased to see that our school district has prioritized the need to address seismic concerns and facilities capacity. The construction of a new school at Nanaimo District Secondary School and additional classroom capacity throughout the district would be a significant benefit to students.
As stated in the article, the district has identified 10 schools in need of expansion in its recently approved capital plan. The identified expansions are justified by the school district by citing increasing student enrllment. This comes as no surprise as the school district’s most recent facilities plan update projects that district-wide elementary school enrolment will exceed elementary capacity by about the year 2022.
I find it ironic that the requested school expansions came on the heels of a number of recent school closure decisions (Woodlands Secondary, Rutherford Elementary, and Woodbank Elementary), which were justified by the school district primarily by structural deficits and declining enrolment just a few years ago.
In the article the school board chairman says most of the growth for young families seems to be in the south. If growth is focused in the south, why has a district-wide moratorium on out-of-catchment enrolment been issued? A more focused approach based on facilities capacity combined with a review of the out-of-catchment policy would have been more acceptable.
If we really want to look after the students, our board of education needs to consider the impacts of its decisions beyond the current term, and put more resources and emphasis into long-range planning and strategic thinking. Perhaps it is time to reassess our current situation and reconsider some of the recent decisions after the Supreme Court ruling on class size and composition and recent trends leaning toward increasing enrolment.
Greg Keller, Nanaimo
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