Major proposed boundary and programming changes will affect several schools when the Inglewood school opens in September 2017.
The Red Deer Public Schools’ new elementary school will be built in an area where there are already five schools.
As a result, the district has gone back to the drawing board to develop a strategy for boundaries and programming that will meet the needs of the students.
“It does present some challenges but we feel that we can come up with a scenario that impacts people the least,” said Della Ruston, Associate Superintendent of System Improvement. “There are positives to a new school, but there are also challenges.”
Four proposed and complicated scenarios that involve mostly the Mountview, Grandview and Fairview schools are on the table. The district is actively seeking public input on the proposals.
“We really do hope to come up with a scenario that is the best for everybody concerned,” said Ruston. “We absolutely have no preferences for any scenarios. What we want is to hear from the community and we want to go from there.”
On Saturday, the second phase of the online engagement portion of the public enagement will wrap up.
So far there has been hundreds of responses online and at the various open houses. Ruston said the district is really flexible and they want to do what works best for the community.
The district and a committee with parents have been working on developing the scenarios since last winter. A recommendation will go to the board in November/December and there will be more opportunities for public input.
The board will give initial approval at its Jan. 13 meeting before making a decision on Jan. 27.
Bev Manning, board of trustees chair, said they want to make the decision quickly so parents have a year lead time to understand the changes.
Manning said the board wants to understand what is important to the communities before it makes any decisions.
For a full list of the scenarios visit www.rdpsd.ab.ca/StudentAccom.php
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com