Nelson students without core classes over scheduling chaos

Parents in Nelson B.C. are outraged that many students are unable to sign up for high school classes required for graduation, while others are overcrowded or simply unavailable.

On Monday night, many attended a school meeting to voice their concerns, but left complaining that district officials who were invited, failed to show up.

All week at the L.V. Rogers Secondary School, staff and counsellors have been trying to deal with the chaos of a new school year as students wait for the chaos to end.

While scheduling is often a problem at the start of the school year, staff say this year it's worse than ever because of two factors: projections of declining enrolment meant the district hired fewer teachers, and a new computer scheduling system has failed to live up to expectations.

"It's almost like the perfect storm. It all comes together and creates havoc," said school superintendent Jeff Jones, who is hearing howls of protest from students, teachers and parents.

He said with the second week of classes well underway, the school may have no option but to spend beyond its budget to sort out the scheduling chaos and get the students into the classes they need.

"Recognizing we are five days into the school year, we need to provide relief for students and staff at the school to mitigate some of the challenges we are experiencing."

Jones says he's hearing some of the same complaints from the high school in Creston, and speculates they too may have to spend their way out of a chaotic beginning to the school year.

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled Nelson students without core classes with the CBC's Daybreak South.