Long Range Facility Plan Up for Discussion at School Board
Tuesday, June 28, 2016 @ 5:59 AM
Prince George, B.C. – At long last the Prince George School Board will publicly discuss the recommendations made in last year’s facility report at the final public school meeting of the year tonight.
Trustees are expected to start developing a plan for consultation beginning this September.
Three elements of the report will be brought up at tonight’s meeting including:
- A consideration of a change in catchment for Edgewood Elementary. The Board will discuss the reassignment of Edgewood Elementary School from the Duchess Park Secondary School catchment to the Kelly Road catchment for the 2017-2018 and subsequent school years. In the 2016-2017 school year, 998 students are expected to enroll at Duchess Park though the long range facility plan identifies the capacity of the school at 900 students. Kelly Road on the other hand is expecting 774 students in September and their operating capacity has been pegged at 1,150 students.
- The Board will also consider the “co-location” of McBride Centennial Elementary School at McBride Secondary School for the 2017-2018 and subsequent school years. (by “co-locating” the Board is considering closing McBride Centennial Elementary School). 72 students are expected to enroll at McBride Secondary School next year and has the capacity for 200 students. Meanwhile 94 students are expected to be enrolled at the elementary school next fall. That school has the capacity for 183 students.
- The Board will consider a change in grade configuration for Morfee Elementary and Mackenzie Secondary Schools. The facilities report has recommended relocating grade seven students from the elementary school to the high school. According to the 2016-2017 annual budget, 389 students are currently enrolled at the elementary school which has the capacity for just 368 students. Meanwhile 210 students are currently enrolled at the high school though it has the capacity for 550.
Prepared by third-party consultant Cascades Facilities Management Ltd, their report was presented to the Board in May, 2015.
Comments
Moving seventh graders from Morfee Elementary to Mackenzie Secondary is a disastrous idea for these children. This action would only serve to isolate one grade from their peers and put them in an environment where they operate on a completely different class schedule and social setting than the rest of the students in the school.
The root of the problem is that SD57 closed Mackenzie’s second elementary school five years ago, neglected it, and now claims it is in too much disrepair to use. The reality is that they would rather only have two schools to maintain in Mackenzie when we have the students to support three. The fact that one school is overstuffed (enrolment is slightly over 400 at Morfee Elementary, not 389) as a result of this strategy doesn’t seem to bother them.
That will be great for McBride with an empty elementary school at one end and empty library at the other end.
Kelly Road is falling apart and is slated to be replaced. (Hopefully it’s replaced before it falls on someone). Why would you want to jam more kids into that death trap?
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