Parents in 'complete uproar' over plan to move 91 students from full Waverley West school

More than 90 students may be forced to leave a southwest Winnipeg school this fall because there isn't enough room for them — and the province doesn't want to give the school any more space. 

The Pembina Trails School Division says its hands are tied after its request to add portable classrooms at South Pointe School was repeatedly denied.

It means parents who situated their family's life, from child care arrangements to commuting trips, around a school in a rapidly growing area of Winnipeg are experiencing upheaval, said Crystal Webster, chair of the school's parent advisory council.

"Parents are in a complete uproar," she said. "They're disappointed with the way this has been handled, right from the start."

The kindergarten to Grade 8 school only opened in Waverley West in 2017, but was bursting at the seams from the beginning.

By the next year, the school division was rejigging the catchment area so only students from a smaller geographic area are accepted at the dual-track school offering French immersion and English programming — but it decided against relocating kids in the affected areas who were already at South Pointe.

Portable request denied

But the catchment change wasn't enough to alleviate the space crunch. Pembina Trails has asked twice for the Public Schools Finance Board to add portable classrooms, but were denied each time. A recent appeal also failed.

The division is now proposing to scrap the grandfathering provision for French immersion students living in the Richmond West and Fairfield Park areas. Ninety-one students would relocate for the fall.

Trustees will vote on the motion, which is recommended by administration, at the next school board meeting on Mar. 11. 

Pembina Trails superintendent Ted Fransen says parents are understandably frustrated. 

"Parents make plans and they have to make adjustments now and that's very disheartening for them," he said. "We're sympathetic."

Without any changes, the school is projecting an enrolment of 1,000 students this September. The school has capacity for around 850 students.

The province told Pembina Trails it would only approve portables until every available student spot within a reasonable distance (60 minutes) from a student's home was taken.

"Manitoba Education requires school divisions to maximize the use of nearby empty classrooms prior to the provision of new space," it said in a statement. "The school division has identified 250 empty classroom spaces at nearby schools."

If the Pembina Trails board rescinds the grandfathering provision, kindergarten to Grade 6 students in the affected areas will relocate to Ecole St. Avila, while Ecole Viscount Alexander welcomes Grade 7 and 8 students from South Pointe.

A few reasons are behind the division's recommendation, Fransen said.

"We made this recommendation because these are the children that live the furthest from South Pointe. These are children already being bused. These are children in a community whose catchment is actually St. Avila and Viscount [now] and they were grandfathered so it would bring alignment," he said. 

In a letter to parents, Fransen wrote the division is working with the daycare provider at St. Avila to expand capacity and they're devising a plan to provide bus transportation between daycares.

Jim Smith, a South Pointe parent, says his kids don't like that they may have to change schools. 

"They're upset that they're going to be leaving their friends' group," he said.

"We're a little bit upset that my eldest daughter is now going to be moving from a school that's less than two kilometres away from our home, and she's going to be required to go to a school that's now almost eight kilometres away."

Fransen says capacity issues will remain problematic even if 91 students go elsewhere. He hopes the province recognizes their efforts and offers portable classrooms in the future.