Westmount Elementary School is the most overcrowded in the Kamloops-Thompson School District at 179 per cent capacity (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

SCHOOL OVER CAPACITY

‘How full is too full?’: SD73 parent advocate says district in desperate need for more space

Oct 1, 2021 | 2:52 PM

KAMLOOPS — Outside Westmount Elementary, the kids have plenty of space to play. Inside it’s a different story.

While the district won’t allow media in the building, the school is at 179 per cent capacity and expecting another portable soon to meet demand.

“I got a call from a Westmount parent who just found out they’re adding another portable here,” said chair of the group Advocates for SD73 Chris Ponti. “Westmount is the most overcapacity school, and she wanted to know ‘How full is too full? When will they stop adding more students? Where’s the portable going to go? When is it going to get here?'”

Seeking answers, Ponti wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education earlier this month. Westmount is not the only problem school.

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McGowan Park Elementary is the next most crammed school at 159 per cent. Pacific Way is 152 per cent capacity, Juniper Ridge sits at 146 per cent, Sa-Hali Secondary and Dallas Elementary share the next spot at 135 per cent capacity, and Dufferin is at 129 per cent.

“We know that when a school hits 130 per cent in the Premier’s riding, they start building. When a school hits 140 per cent in the Minister of Education’s riding, they start building. We want to know at what percentage does a school have to hit in Kamloops before they start building,” said Ponti.

The Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association is concerned about overcapacity at Westmount and elsewhere, affecting a teacher’s ability as well as the student experience.

“Right now, this school has five portables on site and they actually have one class that’s in the gym. That makes the gym inaccessible for many of the students,” noted KTTA President Laurel MacPherson. “So with the weather being good, hopefully the kids can outside for PE, but right now there is now gym time for PE in this school.”

Westmount Elementary has been on the district’s capital priority list for a few years now.

“With moving to project development with for Pineview, Westmount, that region, is by far our biggest pressure point that we don’t have plans for at this point,” said SD73 board chair Rhonda Kershaw. “The school at Westmount is currently at 179 per cent capacity, which is untenable. It’s 360 students, so we need another school in Batchelor Heights.”

However, it’s been difficult to garner much capital for schools in Kamloops in recent years. Valleyview Secondary’s $34 million dollar expansion is the closest the city has been to a new school in 20 years. Pacific Way Elementary is the last new school to be built back in 2001.

Despite being shut out for two decades, the district’s new superintendent believes it will happen soon.

“Yes, is there overcrowding? Yes, we had to do catchment changes. We have, but the board is very conversant about where we need to have our new schools and so they’ll continue to advocate for that,” said SD73 Superintendent Rhonda Nixon. “I look forward to the next five, 10 years to see new schools and new growth be hand in hand.”

Advocates for SD73 hopes but is skeptical about the prospect of new schools, as the idea of more portables becomes the norm.

“The current plan of adding 10 more portables every year and changing catchment areas, busing students to other areas of the city, that’s not a good plan,” noted Ponti. “In fact, the ministry staff suggested to the district that we bus kids to the Heffley school because they have lots of room there. What kind of solution is that?”