School District 20 (Kootenay Columbia) has moved portable buildings onto the Twin Rivers Elementary and at Kinnaird Elementary campuses to address overcrowding issues in Castlegar elementary schools.
The issue of overcrowding came before the school board last fall.
The district made the decision to use portables after hearing from an overwhelming majority of parents that they opposed the alternative solution — moving Grade 7 students to Stanley Humphries High School. Almost 700 people filled out a survey from the school district and 75 per cent of respondents preferred the portable option.
At the time, Twin Rivers was at 106 per cent of capacity, with 489 students for the 461-seat school.
Kinnaird Elementary was at 107 per cent of capacity and expected to hit a peak capacity in 2021, when 405 students are projected to attend the 350-seat school.
Robson Community School is expected to have 105 per cent of its enrollment capacity by 2023.
The combined Twin Rivers Elementary School/Castlegar Primary campus will now have four portable classrooms.
District superintendent Bill Ford says a decision has not been made on which grades will be housed in the portables. The decision will be based on final enrolment numbers once school starts back up in the fall.
“The Board of Education continues to review its facilities across the district,” said Ford.
“In particular, enrolment challenges in schools in the Castlegar area are being looked at. The long-term solution to enrolment challenges will be determined by the board as part of its ongoing long-range facilities plan and capital planning processes, which will resume early in the fall.”
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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