‘We can’t support the growth’: Manitoba schools bursting at seams

A West St. Paul mom says the growth of the community means her child’s elementary school can’t support the number of students in the area.

Kelly Bishop told 680 CJOB’s The News Monday that there aren’t even enough classrooms to properly teach the kids.

“They’ve taken the library, and they’ve relocated it to one of the hallways, and they’ve repurposed the library into classrooms now,” Bishop said.

“So they’ve got two classrooms in there — no divider in the middle — and teachers are trying to instruct two classes in what was formerly the library.”

Bishop said when she moved into the area, residents were told there would be another school built to accommodate the growing population, but schools are now bursting at the seams with no relief in sight.

“I was told, ‘There’s a five-year plan that just came out — you’re going to be getting a school in West St. Paul, a new K-8, it’s all in the plan,'” Bishop said.

“Here we are five years later, ground hasn’t even broken on any school in West St. Paul. The other one in the Seven Oaks School Division has just started, and is not going to be ready for another year or two.

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“We can’t support the growth — there’s nowhere for the kids to go now.”

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The Manitoba School Boards Association’s Sandy Nemeth said the problem is becoming common in communities across Manitoba that are seeing population growth.

“This is starting to become a symptom of growth in a number of communities,” she said. “Certainly the illustration offered is indicative of a need that’s not being met.”

Nemeth says situations like this create poor learning environments for children.

The province says it’s taking the situation seriously and wants to learn the full scope of the problem before committing to any funding.

Education Minister Nello Altomare told The News he’ll be meeting with the Seven Oaks division this week to discuss solutions.

“We were elected to deal with this and we’re going to get this work done. We have to make sure our kids are in proper learning environments, something that we take very seriously. We don’t want to see overcrowded classrooms.

“We’re going to see what their exact needs are and then plan appropriately.”

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