More students, smaller classes have Victoria school district dusting off old portables

The Greater Victoria School Districtis dusting off old portables and poring over school maps to find room for all the students it expects this fall.

Court-imposed smaller class sizes will mean fewer students in a classroom but a surge in the overall number of new students means more childrenneeding a desk.

"For the first time in 30 years, this district is increasing," Mark Walsh, secretary treasurer of the Greater Victoria School District, told All Points Westhost Robyn Burns.

• Kindergarten wait lists grow as enrolment rises in Victoria
• 10 things you need to know about B.C. Budget 2017
• Province, BCTF agree on $50M for new teachers

Walsh added that that'snot a blip in the numbers:he said an increase of 2,000 students is expected over the next 10 years.

"This increasing enrolment trend is creating pockets where we're feeling some space pressures," Walsh said.

Students switching from private schools

The recent court ruling that restored smaller class size limits means that, for example,kindergarten classes that typically held more than 20students can no longer exceed that number.

Part of the pressure is caused by private school students particularly at the secondary level returning to public school system, Walsh explained.

He said a higher percentage of students are now in the public system compared to previous years.

"For the most part schools have space. We're just starting to take back space that's been used for other purposes."

Unused portables returned to service

To that end, Walsh said board officials are going to schools, maps in hand, looking for underused spaces. He said they're planning to freshen up older portables that have been unused for years.

Walsh said the waiting list for French immersion kindergarten classes has been addressed with the addition of two additional classroomsat George Jay and James Douglas elementary schools.

"What we anticipate is that every parent that wants their student in French immersion in kindergarten is going to be fulfilled in that request," he said.

"The difficulty will be, though, that they might not get the French immersion school that they want."