Overcrowding at a southeast Regina public school means more than 150 students could be relocated come the fall.
A decision on the École Wascana Plains School boundary review, a process that formally began in the spring of 2020, is expected at the Regina Public Schools board meeting on March 23.
“École Wascana Plains has outgrown the current building and the projections are even more substantial moving forward,” Adam Hicks, chair of the Regina Public Schools board, told Global News Wednesday.
“This process right now is about gathering input from parents and our staff and ensuring that we’re making the right decision to accommodate some temporary movements until we can get a new school in The Towns.”
To relieve some of the pressure at École Wascana Plains School, the boundary review proposes moving about 75 students in English programming living near the current northwest boundary to Jack MacKenzie School. About 30 French immersion students from The Creeks would go to École W.S. Hawrylak School and 50 more French immersion students would be reassigned to École Wilfrid Walker School.
All three of the aforementioned elementary schools have room to accommodate students who would otherwise attend Wascana Plains for up to five years.
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Hicks says if the province announces funding for a new school in The Towns in the upcoming budget, it should be able to be built within that time frame.
Regina Public Schools is growing at a rate of 400 to 500 students each year, Hicks said, adding that Wascana Plains isn’t the only school struggling with space.
“The large majority of our schools, looking at projections up to 2025, will be at capacity or over capacity,” Hicks said.
Funding has already been approved by the province to address issues at Harbour Landing School and Imperial Community School, both of which are joint-use buildings in partnership with the Regina Catholic School Division.