A schedule has been released by Central Okanagan Public Schools for the Westside school catchment review consultation beginning in September.
The catchment review will impact the start of the 2022-23 school year for Westside elementary, middle and secondary schools.
With the Central Okanagan Board of Education’s decision in May to repurpose the École George Pringle Elementary site for construction of a new secondary school, there is a ripple fallout from that decision for parents and students:
• The English program for École George Pringle Elementary will be moved to the reopened Webber Road Elementary for the 2022-23 school year.
• The Pringle elementary French Immersion program will be relocated.
• Elementary and middle schools in the Constable Neil Bruce Middle School catchment are significantly over-utilized, while there is space in schools in the Ecole Glenrosa Middle School catchment.
• The new secondary school will require changes to catchments when it opens.
Timelines for public consultation will be finalized by trustees at their Sept. 15 board meeting.
The preliminary plan is to survey staff, students, parents and community members from Sept. 16-30; considerations for catchments presented to the planning and facilities committee Nov. 3; further survey on those considerations Nov. 3 to 27 along with town hall meetings subject to public health restrictions at that time; recommendations for catchments provided by planning and facilities committee Dec. 1; further public survey on those recommendations; final review of recommendations by planning and facilities committee Jan. 5, 2022; school board adoption Jan 12, 2022.
School trustees have noted while the secondary school site decision was a difficult decision, the impact of that decision will cause disruption to students and parents, something they hope the consultation process can help minimize.
The board of education has already received an alternative option to build a K-12 school on the École George Pringle site, which the board will include among considerations for the public consultation process.
READ MORE: Central Okanagan school facility plan addresses challenges