By Aaron Schulze

North East School Division applying for relocatable classrooms

Oct 24, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The annual process to apply for relocatable classrooms in schools that are at or near capacity is here, and administrators at the North East School Division (NESD) are throwing a hat in.

An application to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education from the NESD asks for two relocatable classrooms. One for Brunswick School in Melfort, and one for Central Park School in Nipawin.

One reason for the applications is higher enrolment numbers than the NESD expected.

Don Rempel, Director of Education for the NESD, told northeastNOW they don’t have any schools overflowing, but some are close to full capacity.

“The (NESD) has been traditionally declining in our enrolments,” Rempel said. “We’re starting to enter a period of stability. It appears as an aggregate with all our student numbers across the school division.”

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Rempel mentioned some of the reasons for higher enrolment numbers are due to a higher birthrate in some communities and the number of newcomers coming into the province.

While the NESD does have some relocatable classrooms in their possession, Rempel said they don’t have a situation where the classrooms can be moved easily, adding it would be cost prohibitive.

If the NESD doesn’t receive provincial funding for relocatable classrooms, Rempel said the board would spend some of its surplus to make an addition to a school, using Maude Burke School in Melfort as an example.

“That’s always available to the board but they still need to get ministry approval to add space to any school,” Rempel said.

In the meantime, directors at the NESD will keep an eye on schools near capacity and wait for the Ministry of Education’s decision.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow