Dear Editor:
While I would never look a gift horse in the mouth, and the building of a brand new high school that my two children will be attending is indeed a gift, I was somewhat puzzled to read the enrolment numbers as printed on Page 1 of the Wednesday, Jan. 17 edition.
The current high school was built to accommodate 1,200 students and there are currently 1,500 students in attendance there. It is a mystery to me where administrators squeeze in those extra 300 students every day!
The much anticipated new school will reportedly provide space for 1,400 students ... still 100 spaces shy of the current enrolment ... in a brand new school. Have we not learned anything from the very recent scramble to install portables at all the elementary schools to accommodate the new class size guidelines? Why are we going to be playing “catch-up” with enrolment numbers from Day 1 of a new school? Has anyone looked at all the residential development going on around the North Shore? Presumably a good portion of all the new residences will house some high school students. Are they going to be stuck in a portable located on the school field where sports should take precedence, or squeezed into a beautiful new, but sadly, too-small school?
Jodie Tielker
North Vancouver
Editor’s note: Secondary schools are able to operate at more than 100 per cent of official capacity ratings, according to information provided to the public at the Jan. 23 meeting of the North Vancouver School Board. A capacity of 1,400 “will address current and future enrolment needs of the Handsworth community,” according to school district staff. The current enrolment of Handsworth this year is 1,496 students, including 98 international students.
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