Two portable classrooms will be added to Springwood Elementary School for the upcoming school year in answer to a projection that it will soon run out of room for students.
The development represents an about face for a school that had been closed in 2010. It was reopened in September following the Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding class sizes and is now on track exceed capacity.
"In some ways it's a great news story for our community," school board chair Tim Bennett said Wednesday in an interview.
As recently as 2014, Springwood was regarded as a surplus property and there was enough capacity in the Hart to accommodate the student population, Bennett noted.
"And we're in a position now to reopen Springwood to become a very vibrant school," he said.
The school's capacity is 205 students and as of September 2017, enrollment stood at 205 and is projected to rise to 218 for 2018-19 and continue on an upward trend before stabilizing at 275 after 2024-25, according to a staff report.
Trustees approved Tuesday night a maximum of $425,000 to acquire, install and equip the portables. One will be used as a classroom and the other as either a multi-purpose room or as a classroom to free up space within the main building for multi-purpose.
"And it will ensure that we can accommodate a little bit more growth at Springwood over the next couple of years," Bennett said.
He said many of the elementary schools in Prince George are nearing or at capacity "and we're going to have to look at how best we can accommodate that growth."
Steps will include reworking catchment areas and seeking funding from the Ministry of Education to expand school sizes "and Springwood may be on that list but it's just a little too early to tell what priorities are going to surface to the top when we look at potential submissions for the capital plan."
Also on Tuesday, trustees approved community consultation plans for Edgewood Elementary School and the French immersion program.
Every family who has a child in kindergarten to Grade 5 at Edgewood will receive a letter asking whether they want their child to move on to the new Kelly Road Secondary School or Duchess Park Secondary School in 2020.
As for French immersion, those families will be asked if they would like to see the program continued at Duchess Park Secondary School, moved to a different high school or split between two highs schools.
