By Greg Fry

BC Education

PG School Board approves catchment changes

Oct 30, 2019 | 11:41 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — It’s official.

Graduating students from Spruceland and Edgewood Elementary schools will be moved from the Duchess Park to DP Todd secondary school catchment boundary starting next September.

The Prince George School Board made the decision last night and say the move was necessary due to overcrowding concerns at Duchess Park. Duchess Park is currently 150 students overcapacity.

Trustees are hopeful the Province will fund an expansion at DP Todd in the near future though they say they will be able to accommodate the extra students at DP Todd through the use of portables.

Trustees were unanimous in approving the change for Spruceland Elementary students though they were split on the change at Edgewood Elementary.

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“It was a close vote. The public record will show it was a 4-3 vote. There were just a lot of questions,” said Chair Tim Bennett, who voted against the change, along with Trustees Sharel Warrington and Shuirose Valimohamed.

“I think there was really, really good debate as to why this made a lot of sense. Again, there was reservations around what does this mean for the next three to four year plan, because the truth is, DP Todd is already a school that is nearing capacity as well.

“I think the advantage of DP Todd is it has the ability to add additional portables in the short term. And Duchess Park just doesn’t have the ability to add portables to the grounds. So, DP Todd can much more easily expand than Duchess Park could.”

Prince George District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) President Andrea Beckett said it was nice to see the school board address overcapacity concerns at Duchess Park but admits “fallout concerns” remain over bussing and kids being split between schools.

She advises any parents with lingering concerns about the changes to reach out to the DPAC so that they can bring them to the school district.