School District 43 (SD43) will have to set aside $2.25 million in this year's operating budget for portables and other additions in growing neighbourhoods.
At Tuesday's (Nov. 29) board meeeting, trustees supported the expenditure, to be finalized in February, but complained the schools should have been built bigger in the first place.
Three recently rebuilt schools in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are all facing a space crunch — Centennial Secondary, École Banting Middle and Minnekhada Middle.
New classrooms are needed for Centennial, at a cost of $1.05 million.
Two portables are needed for Banting and another for either Minnekhada or Kwayhquitlam, depending on feasibility, at $350,000 each.
Board chair Michael Thomas suggested the shortage of classroom space is due to a lack of foresight and districts shouldn't be required to pay for additions and portables.
"We advocate strongly to the Ministry of Education about what we're going to need on the day the door opens because we see enrolment growth happening but unfortuantely that's not how the school gets built," he said, adding that using operating funds to pay for the extra classroms is costing SD43 teachers and education assistant support.
More families moving into Coquitlam
Trustee Kerri Palmer Isaak, who represents Anmore and Belcarra, said the funding model for schools needs to be changed to accommodate growth in new neighbourhoods.
"I have a hard time allocating operation dollars to portables; I have such a struggle with that," she said.
"It's frustrating and it only draws attention to the need to re evaluate the model for funding."
Trustees were told the demand for extra space is the result of higher enrollment due to population growth in the Burquitlam area and Coquitlam's north east, as well as changes to classroom needs based on a B.C. Supreme Court ruling.
Facilities manager Ivano Cecchini said, when the schools were built a few years ago, projections indicated that more classrooms were needed but the province funds institutions based on current enrollment.
"School size, especially for new schools, who determines the size of school when it's building, it’s the ministry who decides," said Cecchini, noting officials were told twice that Banting needed to be bigger.
Port Coquitlam trustee Christine Pollock said Terry Fox Secondary also needs an addition because of its many portables.
But she was told B.C. is funding new and replacement schools due to enrolment growth and seismic concerns and the hope is that space at Terry Fox will free up once the new Burke Mountain joint middle/secondary school is built.
Fortunately, one school has been built to accommodate growth and Irvine Elementary has enough capacity for Coast Salish Elementary students who are waiting for their new facility to open, amidst delays due to labour and supply chain challenges.
A silver lining
A partial occupancy for Coast Salish is expected soon.
As well, the district will be able to add classrooms to a yet-to-be completed Neighbourhood Learning Centre at Centennial, saving some money.
The building at Centennial has taken five years to build, but can now be used for classrooms.
Noting that the province funded "the shell," SD43 secretary treasurer Mohammed Azim said the district will be able to take advantage of the space.
"In this case for us, it worked out for the board, we needed those five classrooms."
