Some students in the Nanaimo Ladysmith Public School district will have to make some changes in the new year as SD68 works to fill the newly re-opened Rutherford Elementary.(File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

changing lines

SD68 moving ahead with boundary shifts for Rutherford re-opening

Sep 12, 2024 | 3:43 PM

NANAIMO — District staff and trustees are attempting to walk a fine line between quickly populating a new elementary school and inconveniencing as few people as possible.

School District 68 trustees took another step toward officially re-opening Rutherford Elementary in 2025, during a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11, by endorsing a series of recommendations made after an initial round of public consultation.

SD68 secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh said one of the concerns they heard was cross-boundary transfer requests for students who might not be interested in changing schools, but they shouldn’t get their hopes up.

“The goal is to reopen Rutherford in a robust fashion, and so there’s going to be the requirement to move some students in order to make that successful… we’re not going to be able to be responsive to all of those concerns if our ultimate goal is to try and make Rutherford a vibrant school from the get-go.”

Recommendations include minor boundary shifts for existing students at McGirr, Randerson, Frank J. Ney, Departure Bay, Uplands, Cilaire and Rock City elementary schools, to take effect in January 2025.

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Students affected by the changes would be required to attend their respective catchment school the following September, with some exceptions made for students entering grade 7 at their current school.

“The Rutherford catchment contains parts of McGirr, Ney, Randerson, and the new Ney catchment contains part of Departure Bay. Those are the students that would be required to be moving, subject to, of course, being in grade seven in that September,” said Walsh. “At Rock City or Uplands, or the other mentioned schools, none of the students would be required to move, it would be upon new registration, or moving into the community starting in kindergarten as an example.”

The District will entertain requests from families to remain at their current school if “sufficient space and staffing to support them” exists, according to the recommendations.

Several bus routes would also be adjusted as a result of Rutherford re-opening.

Walsh said while originally recommended to be closed, the bus route instituted to Frank J Ney serving students in the Rutherford area will be reallocated to the Oakridge/Golden Oaks area.

“Currently, they’re (Oakridge/Golden Oaks) mostly out of walking distance to Departure Bay, and we’ve had a lot of concerns raised that now it’s even further. So what we’re proposing, and it works very well by reallocating the bus, is now to take those kids and bring them to Frank Ney with the bus.”

He said this new route might also serve students going to Dover, but the ridership numbers would need to be examined first before making any changes.

A certain number of allowances are being made for students at Departure Bay Elementary, a school which will see the most impacts from these proposed moves.

Siblings of grade seven students at Departure Bay Elementary will be able to remain at the school until they graduate.

When lines are re-drawn, some students previously zoned for Departure Bay will be re-directed to Frank J. Ney, however, they will be able to still attend their old catchment secondary school, Wellington Secondary, if they choose.

Public Input
During the district’s public consultation over the summer, just under a third of respondents who would be required to have their children change schools said it would result in a longer commute.

Seven out of 10 people surveyed said adjusting to a new school was “top of mind”, while around a third had concerns regarding impacts on academic performance.

Others noted potential issues with before or after-school care, along with students being separated from their established social circles.

Most overall, 61 per cent, expected the situation to be beneficial in the long run due to less crowded schools and fewer students learning in temporary buildings.

SD68 pledges to have before and after school care in place at Rutherford school.

The Board of Trustees is due to handle requests for catchment adjustments in November before locking down the map for the new school year.

An interactive map of the proposed boundaries is available here.

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