Parents trying to register their children at one Mount Pleasant school say they are being shut out, even though the school has room for more students.
David Livingstone Elementary, at Prince Edward and East 23rd Avenue, is overcapacity. Spots in two 2016/2017 kindergarten classes were handed out by lottery, and a dozen families are now on a wait-list.
Parent Rubeena Ratcliffe was told by staff that the school has an empty classroom, but no funding for another teacher.
“If there is space, and they are able to accommodate for a class or half a class, whatever the numbers are, I don’t see why they would be sending us to these two other schools, it just doesn’t make sense,” Ratcliffe says.
Her daughter now has to choose between two schools they would have to drive to, even though they live across the street from David Livingstone. Vancouver is facing declining enrolment, but schools in False Creek, downtown and Mount Pleasant are overcapacity.
The Vancouver School Board is also facing a $24-million budget shortfall, and trustees say even if there is room at David Livingstone, it may not make financial sense to fund another class. The board would also have to ensure an additional class could be sustained for at least three years.
READ MORE: Vancouver School Board facing a projected $24M budget shortfall
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“We have very limited room now within our staffing numbers because of how tight our budget is. We’re very cautious about ensuring where we put teachers, that we have relatively full classes because we can’t really afford to put a teacher in anymore where there may only be eight or nine students,” says Trustee Patti Bacchus.
Bronia and Paul DePedrina were also shut out of this year’s lottery, despite living in the area for more than a decade. They are asking the school board to shuffle its resources by closing low-enrolment schools in favour of growing neighbourhoods.
“We just see so many strollers and babies, I don’t think the situation is going to get any better here. So I feel like we need to plan better,” says Bronia DePedrina, a parent at the school.
Trustees say the wait-list at David Livingstone may be reduced to zero by the time the new school year begins. The VSB is also considering a long-term facilities plan that could see the closure of some low-capacity schools, while building new schools in booming neighbourhoods.
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