'Just devastating': Over-capacity schools creating problems for Calgary families

Parents in a southeast Calgary neighbourhood are speaking out after being told their kids couldn’t attend a nearby school.

Parents in a southeast Calgary neighbourhood are speaking out after being told their kids couldn’t attend a nearby school.

Several families living in Auburn Bay planned to have their kids attend Lakeshore School, but that won’t be the case come fall.

Despite living only about five minutes away, May Salem’s son is one of the students who is now stuck on the wait list.

Her son was to graduate from his elementary school this year and attend Lakeshore School for Grade 6 in September. Instead, Salem says he’ll have to take a 20-minute bus ride to Nickle School everyday.

“You can’t imagine, he’s literally terrified,” said Salem. “He’s a very a very smart kid and having to go through this mental health issue of being dragged away from his friends and put on a bus to go somewhere else is just devastating.”

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said due to rising enrolment, it had to implement an overflow process.

When schools are overcapacity, CBE uses a tiered lottery system to decide who gets accepted.