Spring Park school overcrowding sees no relief

Spring Park Elementary School parents who are concerned about overcrowding must wait for solutions after the English Language School Board decided to maintain the status quo for next year at itsmeeting Tuesday night.

The school, which opened in 2013, already has too many students.

Most of the options for relief involved moving some students to nearby West Kent Elementary School.

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"I would have liked to see a little bit of movement to make a little bit of a change to at least start moving in that direction," said Spring Park Home and School chair Jennifer McLeod.

The decision didn't comewithout debate from school board trustees such as Kent Nicholson.

"I would personally recommend that we don't delay this decision, that it is medicine, sometimes it tastes bad, but sometimes it's better for us in the long run," said Nicholson.

After the decision was made, another motion passed to ask the provincial government for funding so the school could hire consultants to help them deal with the problem.

McLeod thinks that's great, but worries about the timing.

"What if this takes two years, three years for a consultative process? And then the numbers at Spring Park continue to grow and we continue to have that strain on students and staff and the building?"

McLeod says the projected population for the school is in the 600 student range within the next two to three years.

Spring Park was built to accommodate around 450.

Meanwhile, other parents are concerned many Charlottetown schools are underutilized and suggest that rezoning be considered.