The Surrey, B.C., school board has voted on a plan to try and address overcrowding in its schools.
In the plan, the school board said staggering start and end times for some students will increase capacity.
The change could come for some schools next fall.
The staggered start and end times would mean school days would be extended to five class periods, with students attending four of them. That would mean longer days for staff.
The board said this solution would allow schools to increase capacity by 10 to 15 per cent but would cost thousands for extra staffing pay.
Currently, Surrey schools are overcrowded, with the district using nearly 400 portables.
An education advocate, Cindy Dalglish, called it “the best of the worst ideas.”
“(Students) are not going to be able to participate in all the other parts of a school, like the clubs and the teams — all the different aspects that go into a school building,” she told Global News.
“Because those support teachers and staff that help run those programs are going to be in classrooms and the students are going to not know when they’re going to be in (and out) of school.”
The decision on which schools will participate in the new extended and staggered schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The school board did say about 33 per cent of schools will be chosen to operate the new plan.
A new report, which forms part of Surrey’s 2024 to 2025 capital plan, estimates the Surrey School District will see 9,777 new school-age students in the next decade, based on the anticipated construction of 51,490 new housing units, including secondary suites. That means the district will need a dozen new schools, one replacement site and one expansion over the 10-year period.
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