School district 68 officials have an eye one short and long-term rising enrollment numbers. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

new school year

SD 68 grapples with ever-present capacity crunch as new school year starts

Sep 8, 2023 | 2:06 PM

NANAIMO — While students, teachers and support staff are busy getting used to their new surroundings, senior administrators are getting a sense of how full their schools will be.

Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh said their enrollment projections are on par at the elementary level, down significantly for online learners, and up at their high schools.

“We’re up nearly 200 kids in secondaries across the district, that’s not likely to translate into 200 additional funded kids.”’

Walsh noted secondary school students are only fully funded by the province if the student is taking a full course load, while elementary students are automatically fully funded.

Regardless, SD68 is on the hook for ensuring a seat for all students.

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The district will supply the final student headcount at the end of the month, which determines funding from the B.C. Government.

On the staffing side, Walsh said they’ve made progress filling vacant teaching positions, pointing to extensive recruiting efforts ongoing for several months.

“We will continue to have challenges filling EA’s (education assistants), absenteeism, and also specialist teachers can be difficult to find still, but generally we are, I think, in a much better position than many of our colleagues across the province.”

With expansion projects completed in Nanaimo’s north end at Dover Bay Secondary and Ecole Hammond Bay Elementary, Walsh said five fewer portables are currently being used in the district.

However, he noted roughly 70 portables used as classrooms throughout SD68 is high for a district their size.

SD68 secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh addressing trustees during an Aug. 30 board meeting. (SD 68)

He said school board trustees will continue addressing capacity challenges in the months ahead.

Walsh expects trustees to make a final decision on a planned re-opening of Rutherford Elementary School next month, which would welcome students for the 2025/26 school year.

“We wanted to make sure that before the final decision to proceed with opening (Rutherford School) happened that we didn’t have some odd drop in population in the north end and I can tell you that’s not what we’re seeing, we’re a continued robust enrollment in the north end.” Walsh told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Roughly 15,000 students are enrolled with Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools, while the district employs 2,200 people.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes