'Non solution:' Parents seek long-term answers to overcrowded schools

P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch was pressed for a long-term solution to overcrowding at schools for Stratford students as thethird round of meetings in the schools review kicked off in Charlottetown Wednesday night.

We demand better for our children ... trying to sharean overcrowded space.- Sherri Davis

About 350 people attended the meeting, which was to discuss the Charlottetown Rural and Colonel Gray families of schools.

The schools review was launched in September to deal with an uneven distribution of students across the system, with some schools under utilized and many overcrowded. The latest draft report in the process recommends school closures and extensive rezoning.

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Charlottetown Rural and Colonel Gray families of schools have been recommended to consolidate into one family of schools. The recommendations for those schools include many zoning changes to try and deal with overcrowding, and the closure of St. Jean Elementary, which is the mostunder utilized in greater Charlottetown.

Many speakers also raised their support to keep St. Jean Elementary open, while also expressing support for the other four Island schools recommended for closure.

The most overcrowded schools in the province serve Stratford students, and rezoning is the recommendation to alleviate that problem. The recommendations for the Charlottetown Rural family of schools states "a longer term solution should be investigated as overcrowding in the Stratford schools could not be addressed with existing resources."

SherriDavis of theStratford Elementary Home and School called that a "non solution."

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Davis said the recommendation just moves the problem around, freeing up space in one school, and sending too many students to another. She wanted to know what the long-term vision is for the problem.

"We respectfully request a plan to address the overcrowding at primary, elementary, junior high and high school," she said.

"We demand better for our children and the children of other communities that would be impacted by trying to sharean overcrowded space with our huge number of students and growing population."

Davis recommended the few dozen students who she said would be rezoned out of theStratford school be allowed to finish their elementary education there, because it would not create a dent big enough to solve the overcrowding.

Concerns about rezoning

KarenHarding, spoke on behalf of a group of community members that have concerns about the rezoning of L.M. Montgomery Elementary in East Royalty.

Hardingsaid the changes would takestudents away from the L.M. Montgomeryand send them on a minimum 30 minute bus drive to Sherwood Elementary. She said the changes would split the York and North Shore communities down the middle.

French immersion resources a concern

John Cunniffe, speaking on behalf of West Kent Home and School,said the group was very happy about the recommendation to add French immersion to West Kent Elementary School, something he saidthey have been pushing for for some time.

But, Cunniffe said they do want to make sure there are enough resources to have it implementedcorrectly.

"We are requesting that the Public School Branchensures that appropriate levels of both human resources and material resources are both allocated to not only our French immersion program but also the French immersion programs at West Royalty, and continuing on to Spring Park to ensure success at all three sites."

Sheldon Opps, the president of SpringPark Elementary Home and School, also voiced his concerns about resources.

Spring Park currently has French immersion, and Oppssaid his group isworried there will not be enough resources when it is introduced to two other schools in the area.

Cunniffe also noted parents expressed disappointment when learning about rezoning, especially for Grade 5 students who would have to go to a different school next year, then change schools again when going to intermediate school.

He suggested a transition period, so students above a certain grade could finish at their original school.

The next public school meeting is Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. at Kinkora Regional High for the Kinkora family of schools.

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