Enrolment throughout the Living Sky School Division has turned out to be greater than what was projected. The increase is primarily a result of more students at North Battleford Comprehensive High School, at Norman Carter School and McLurg High School in Wilkie and at Unity Public School.
Director of Education Randy Fox said there were about 5,700 enrolled last week, although one school, because of staff health reasons, still has to take some students out of the data. Projections had been for a total of 5,500.
The Wilkie schools may have picked up a few students who would typically have gone to Landis, in the neighbouring Sun West School Division. Some parents have relocated their students to Wilkie in anticipation of a possible closure of the school in Landis.
Fox also said more Grade 8s enrolled at NBCHS than expected. This fall local Grade 8s relocated from Battlefords elementary schools to the high school in order to ease overcrowding. The Grades 7s are expected to relocate in 2015.
Opening week enrolment at NBCHS was 986, as compared to the projection of 837.
Higher enrolment is always good news, said Fox.
"It's a challenge, but it's a good situation."
It may be that some students in the area of the high school have chosen to walk to NBCHS rather than ride a bus to the Catholic high school on the other side of town, said Fox in answer to one board member wondering if they had lost fewer students to John Paul II Collegiate because of the new grade alignment.
But, because the Light of Christ Catholic School Division numbers appear to be good, too, Fox believes an increased population is the answer.
"There are just some more kids around," he said. "When I think of the number of houses in North Battleford that have sold over the summer, there are people coming from somewhere, And that's happening in other communities, not just North Battleford."
Fox said when the division was looking at adding Grades 7 and 8 to NBCHS, the highest level projections were around 1,200.
"And we thought that was being really optimistic," he said.
With enrolment at almost 1,000 this fall, Fox sees the 1,200 figure as more than likely. However, he believes there will be enough room.
"I'm trusting we can accommodate them based on what our school administrators are saying," he said.
He added, however, that when the Grade 7s arrive, a second gym will be necessary.
"When our Grade 7s come, we want to make sure we have that gym ready to go," he said.
Unfortunately, he doesn't expect the provincial government to have any funding available.
While enrolment is up, there are still lots of kids in the community, who aren't going to school.
"In talking to some of the folks who work with social services or partner with us in working with kids who should be in school," said Fox. "There are a lot more kids out there in this community - like I'm not talking about 10 or 20, I'm talking 100 to 200 - who are not in school."
A good thing, he said, is that some of those kids have shown up at school this fall.
"Our job is to keep them there," he said. "We know that the numbers will probably go down, but we're really hoping not as much as in the past."
Now that the Education Act repealed a section restricting school hours the division has more options.
"We're using our shops to extend the school day," said Fox.
Using late afternoons and evenings, the division can try to re-engage those kids who have been out of school and eventually get them back full time.
"We might as well try and use the shops and, right now, with that section repealed last spring so the school day is no longer nine to three-thirty, we have more flexibility than we ever had before."
