'Tremendous' enrolment growth pushes Sask. schools to convert shared spaces into classrooms

Kathleen Eisler can't remember when enrolment wasn't a topic of discussion for families with students at Regina's Harbour Landing Elementary School.

The mother of four has sent her children there since it opened in 2017, and she joined the parent council shortly after.

Eisler has watched the overcapacity conversations evolve over the years. They've included moving the French immersion program, converting the original library space into a classroom and building a new elementary school nearby (which, although a location has been selected, the city and province are still in negotiations about).

"We are beyond [the school's] design capacity; we are now just into keeping it functional and safe," Eisler said.

After about 200 students were rezoned to other schools this fall, Eisler said that eased enrolment pressures at Harbour Landing, but the school is still packed.

"Parents are frustrated. We can't have an event with the whole school," Eisler said.

Despite enrolment numbers not being finalized until the end of the month, Regina Public Schools has already seen "tremendous enrolment growth" in both Harbour Landing and the Greens on Gardiner neighbourhoods, said spokesperson Terry Lazarou.

"Schools in those areas are near capacity and we are looking forward to working with the government of Saskatchewan to build new schools where they are needed by growing families," Lazarou said in an emailed statement, noting a high school in the southeast is still on the division's wish list.

The Regina Catholic School Division said its preliminary numbers show 13,006 students as of Sept. 1 — an increase of more than 1,000 students from the same time last year. 

"A dramatic jump like that certainly has us busy adding staff, arranging for physical space for classrooms and finding more desks and other learning materials, which in turn impacts the budget," said Twylla West, the spokesperson for Regina Catholic, in an emailed statement.

In Saskatoon, that city's separate school division said it's also getting creative with space to accommodate more students.

"Growth has put a strain on the physical capacity at some of our schools," said Derrick Kuntz, spokesperson for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, in an email.

The division has been able to add portable classrooms at some schools and has converted non-classroom spaces, such as science and music rooms, into classrooms to keep class sizes manageable, he added.

Shane Skjerven, Saskatoon Public Schools' director of education, said his division is in a similar situation with its newer joint-use schools. In some cases, he said that multi-purpose and staff rooms have been closed off to provide extra space.