School board trustees have given themselves plenty of time to decide how child school enrollment should be determined starting in the 2011-12 school year, but it won't make their final decision any easier.
During the Oct. 26 board meeting, trustee Lois Boone characterized the issue as "right versus righter" in the sense that trustees must balance the principles of equity and the best interests of the children.
"Or is it in the best interest of the children to say to the one new child that has no siblings in the school, 'I'm sorry the school's closed and you're going to have to go elsewhere?'" she asked.
"I've gone back and forth and I've bounced all around on this and I'm anxious to hear what I get back from others, because to me there is no right answer to this... we're going to have some disappointed people no matter what we do."
Although considered a "minor revision" to the district's policy on school catchment areas and student transfers, trustees agreed during their Oct. 26 meeting to wait until at least their Jan. 25 meeting to make the call, giving parents the time to come forward with concerns and proposals.
Since then, it's become apparent parents with children in the French immersion program at College Heights are strongly opposed to the first-come, first-serve option.
Concerns expressed included parents being forced to drive to two schools, online enrollment would become a speed-typing contest, and first-come, first-serve would cause harm to families.
Trouble is, the combined enrollment of the English-track and French-track programs at College Heights adds up to 436 students or 97 per cent of the school's working capacity, including the two portables on the site, with about 40 per cent in French immersion.
Adding onto the school or bringing more portables onto the site is out of the question.
"There isn't a lot of money," school district superintendent Brian Pepper said in an interview.
"We can't just turn around and buy portables or lease them and we can't just say we're adding onto the school. There's not that kind of money."
What's more, the provincial government has mandated that full-day kindergarten be in place in all elementary schools by next year. It's up and running in 25 schools this year with College Heights, Heather Park, Southridge, Vanway, Malaspina, Beaverly and McBride Centennial to be added starting 2011-12.
"Typically, if you've got half-time kindergarten, you split 40 pupils into two classes of 20 and you run one in the morning and one in the afternoon," said Pepper, who stressed he's not criticizing the concept of full-day kindergarten. "If you've got 40 in full-day kindergarten, you need two classes."
And the school district has not been given the leeway to scrap the StrongStart early-learning drop-in program for parents and toddlers, now operating at Spruceland, the Aboriginal Choice School, Ron Brent, Harwin, Peden Hill, Morfee, Heather Park and Quinson and, on a reduced schedule, at Blackburn, Buckhorn, Beaverly, Nukko and Edgewood.
School board trustee Lyn Hall is well aware of what the issue is boiling down to.
"It's all about space and it's capacity that drives this," Hall said.
There is one elephant in the room - cole Lac Des Bois on Ospika near Fifth in the city's central area is a school capable of accommodating 647 students yet is currently home to just 225.
Given that many French immersion parents drive their children to school, it's not out of the question that those unable to enroll all their children at College Heights could turn to cole Lac Des Bois as a back up.
But it's a transition many parents would rather not put their children through.
Also, cole Lac Des Bois is home to a single-track French immersion program whereas College Heights and Heather Park, which is at 87 per cent capacity with 693 students, of which about 120 are in French immersion, are dual track which poses an advantage for some families.
"If one child is struggling and knowing that the English track is there in the same school is a real safety net and some reassurance that if one of their children are struggling in French immersion, they can in fact be moved over into the English track," Hall said.
"They don't have to leave that school, they can stay with their sibling, they can say with their friends and they're in an environment that they know and they're comfortable in. We haven't had a lot of that over the years but that's an important piece to parents as well."
