'It's just not fair': Parents react to high school boundary changes in southwest Calgary

Several Calgary students who were slated to attend Ernest Manning High School next fall will instead have to go to Central Memorial, parents were told at an information session Monday night.

Because Earnest Manning is overcapacity, the Calgary Board of Education is redesignating the following communities to Central Memorial High School for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years:

• Coach Hill.
• Cougar Ridge.
• Discovery Ridge.
• Glenbrook.
• Glendale.
• Killarney/Glengarry.
• Patterson.
• Richmond.
• Rosscarrock.
• Shaganappi.
• Spruce Cliff.
• Westgate.
• Wildwood.

Students living in these communities who would be in Grade 10 for the 2020-21 school year, as well as students in Grade 11 or 12 moving into these communities, will attend Central Memorial High School.

The CBE wrote in an FAQ that it recognizes any decision made would have an impact on families.

"We needed to find an appropriate number of students to redesignate to alleviate overcrowding at EMHS," says the FAQ.

The move doesn't sit well with parents like Darrin Hopkins, who lives in Discovery Ridge. He says this is the third time his son will have to switch schools because of redesignations.

"They're being ripped out of their community and their friends and sent to another school, and it's just not fair," he said.

"Very little homework has been done by the CBE on this. They were unaware of the prior disruptions of the Discovery Ridge kids. They were unaware of transportation times and routes and methods getting back and forth. It just seemed to me that they were totally and completely unprepared."

Last minute decision

Jaime Gage, a parent of a Grade 9 student who has also been redesignated to go to a different high school, says she agrees with the CBE's decision, but thinks it was communicated very late.

"I think they have known for quite a few years that they would be at this point and overcapacity, but are only making a decision very last minute which is really affecting our community of Discovery Ridge along with a lot of other communities."

She says the affected communities will now face longer commute and transportation times.

"There is only one bus in and out of (Discovery Ridge) in the morning and afternoon, so if a child misses that bus, I think it's three transfers and maybe a 90-minute commute," she said. "I know parents are really quite concerned about that."

According to the CBE's FAQ, decisions about dedicated bus routes are made by Calgary Transit and depend on resources. However, the board will work collaboratively with Calgary Transit to address increased ridership from the communities affected.

Gage's daughter, Emily, explains that fortunately for her they have transportation arranged, however, that's not the case for a lot of other families.

"I know especially places like Cougar Ridge and Patterson, it's not going to be as easy as it is for me."

She explains that while she understand the CBE's decision, she wishes she was given more time to figure it out before starting high school.

"I thought that I was going to be going to a high school where all of my junior high friends would be going to, but now they're splitting us up in half," said Emily. 

"I feel like I have less time to figure out what I'm going to do in high school and what classes I'm going to take."

Classrooms overcapacity

However, another parent, Barbara McConnell, says she believes the change has its benefits.

"The classrooms are already overcapacity and the school is full and I just think, let's do the best in schools where we can move kids around to get better educational experiences," she said.

CBE facilities superintendent Dany Breton says he's sympathetic to the disruption the changes will cause some families, but that there simply isn't the physical space at Ernest Manning to absorb more enrolment.

"Unfortunately, we don't have high schools in sufficient numbers to ensure that every child is able to go to a high school that is within their community or very close by," he said.

Breton says enrolment at Ernest Manning is about 1,960. By September of 2022, the redesignations will bring that down to about 1,670 — its actual capacity.

Breton says the changes are part of an interim plan while officials take a broader look at how to balance projected enrolment pressures at high schools across the city over the next several years.