Parents erupted into cheers after commissioners at the English Montreal School Board voted to create four modular classrooms at Edinburgh elementary school in Montreal-West.
The west end school has been plagued with an overcrowding problem for years.
The school has the capacity for 330 students and the population currently stands at 400.
“This will provide immediate relief. My thoughts are about our students having the rooms that they need to have the education they deserve,” said Michael Rodger, chair of the governing board at Edinburgh.
The board had originally suggested that the school use a nearby former elementary school as an annex, but parents were concerned that splitting up the school body would negatively affect school spirit.
Instead, they pushed for modular classrooms that would allow students to once again have rooms dedicated to science, music, and gym.
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The four modular rooms will cost an estimated $600,000.
“It is going to be a really happy first day of school once we have the modular rooms in place,” said Rodger.
The board admits that the solution is a temporary one. The modular classrooms will be in place starting next school year, but will then be gradually decreased by one each year over four years as the school tries to return to its original capacity. New kindergarten classes are capped at two for the start of the new school year.
At a later date, the board says it will start to look at the possibility of a permanent extension being added to the Edinburgh school building.
The nearby building that was proposed as an annex for Edinburgh will instead be used as an annex for the also overcrowded, Willingdon elementary.
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