Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools calls for 36 portable classrooms amid student surge

“Our schools are full.”

That’s the message from Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools chair Diane Boyko, who said the school division has requested 36 relocatable classrooms for the 2024-25 school year.

“There’s a sense of urgency to have schools built, but there’s also a sense of urgency to adapt to the circumstances that we find ourselves in now,” Boyko said.

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She said the school division has seen 1,590 new students in the last year and 2,500 within the last two years, and has gained more than 4,000 students since 2017.

Boyko said this is a good problem to have, but that they needed more space.

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“And we haven’t had a school built in all that time since 2017.”

She said band rooms, break-out rooms and computer rooms are being used just to accommodate all the students.

Boyko said they are doing what they can with the space they have, but described the situation as desperate.

She said several areas in the Saskatoon region have kids being bussed out and they need more space.

She said the time it takes to get new schools up and running ranges between four and five years. Boyko said in that time they’ll get many more students, and in the meantime, they need a place for those students to go.

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“That’s a long time, and that’s a lot more students that we’re going to see in those four and five years.”

Boyko said these portables will work to alleviate some of the pressures.

She said the request for those portables is almost the entire budget the province has set aside for all of its portables.

She said things like new immigration policies bringing in more new Canadians have been beneficial to the school division’s roster numbers.

Boyko said the province is aware of their circumstances, saying they’ll continue to lobby for these changes.

Global News received a statement from the Ministry of Education on the matter.

“The Government of Saskatchewan has and will continue to fund Saskatchewan’s growing schools.”

“The Relocatable Classroom Program allows the Ministry of Education to support school divisions in being responsive to space pressure caused by increasing enrolments. Requests for relocatable funding are accepted through an application process on an annual basis,” the statement read.

The ministry added that it is reviewing funding applications from school divisions.