Harry Balfour School expected to see enrollment grow by another 40 or 50 students this year, but instead they saw more than double that, and a record number of kindergartners.
Peace Wapiti School Division Superintendent Sheldon Rowe says they’re now sitting at nearly 100 per cent capacity, and it’s getting overcrowded.
“Every nook and cranny of this school is being used by the kids; we’re looking at about 765 students overall at Harry Balfour. It’s a well used, fully utilized school; it’s take to take a look at Whispering Ridge as a possible site for a new school.”
While they may be eligible for teachers, being at nearly 100 per cent capacity means they wouldn’t have room for them.
The school division has put in a request for three modular classrooms, that can be moved once a school is built in the Whispering Ridge area.
Photo: Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Everett McDonald tours the crowded Harry Balfour School with Principal Darren Young, PWSD Superintendent Sheldon Rowe, and Board Chair Stacey Pelland.