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Roch Gamache of the school's governing board does not want students moved. (JOHN MAHONEY/The Gazette)
Dealing with overcrowded schools
Perpetual problem in growing off-island
KAREN SEIDMAN
The Gazette
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Roch Gamache of the school's governing board does not want students moved. (JOHN MAHONEY/The Gazette)
Parents at Pierre Elliott Trudeau elementary school in Vaudreuil-Dorion are asking the Lester B. Pearson School Board to reconsider its proposed plan of moving some students out of the overcrowded school this fall.
Despite years of petitions and protests, of expansions and new-school constructions, off-island parents have found themselves yet again in the uncomfortable position of having to deal with a school that is bursting at the seams.
“Parents are really hoping not to have to move the kids,” said Roch Gamache, chairperson of the school’s governing board. “The school board has to do its homework and explore other possibilities.”
Last week, the governing board unanimously adopted a resolution asking the board to take into consideration “all alternatives in order to avoid any useless student transfers over the short term.”
In September, the school is expected to be about 19 students over its capacity – which has been increased to 445 thanks to two portable classrooms. The number of student could, however, jump as high as 485, school officials say.
It’s a problem that has been persistent in the off-island territory, where even the creation of three new schools in six years hasn’t completely solved the overcrowding problem. Board officials seem to be in a perpetual state of waiting for a response on a request to build a new school in that territory.
According to Pearson chairperson Marcus Tabachnick, only PET is overcrowded at the moment, although all of the off-island schools are full.
In order to address the situation at PET, board officials submitted a proposal that included three possible scenarios: transferring two Grade 6 PET classes to Westwood Junior elementary in St. Lazare; transferring two Grade 6 PET classes to Mount Pleasant elementary in Hudson; or transferring two Grade 6 PET classes to Forest Hill Senior elementary in St. Lazare.
Gamache said that while parents recognize the difficulty of the situation, they believe there are other options to explore which wouldn’t entail moving students.
For example, he said, a stringent application of the enrolment criteria might result in redirecting new students to other schools rather than relocating current students.
“We believe it’s feasible to do something like that and we’re asking the board to study it further,” Gamache said.
Tabachnick said board is looking for a solution that works for everybody.
“We’ll do the best we can for the community,” he said. “But the fact is we can’t push the walls out further.”
The board has been grappling with its booming off-island territory for years. At times, it has been incredibly frustrated with the provincial government’s foot-dragging on getting new schools built. And whatever is built quickly gets filled and it’s then back to square one for board officials and the community.
In January 2007, board officials were forced to hold an emergency meeting to discuss how to handle an unexpected growth spurt in the off-island territory.
Since about 2004, schools like Forest Hill, Evergreen and PET have been grappling with space problems. Portable classrooms, which were supposed to be temporary, often can’t be removed because of the overcrowding issues.
At times, the situation has become quite unpleasant, like when Forest Hill had to dismantle its library in 2004 to make space for more classrooms.
Having faced similar situations many times, Tabachnick said the board understands the best options. But he said there’s just no such thing as the status quo for PET.
The best solution – a new school in the the off-island territory – needs a go-ahead from the provincial government.
kseidman@thegazette.canwest.com