Amidst the buzz of excitement as students return to classes this week there is a ripple of concern over classroom space amongst the district’s top brass.
To ease that pressure, SD73 would appreciate some prompt capital announcement’s from the province for the construction of new schools, or for the expansion of existing institutions, especially in the city’s Southwest sector, said school board chair Heather Grieve.
Some relief will come next September when Snine elementary opens, and funding has been announced for a new elementary school in Aberdeen, but that won’t help at the secondary level where some schools are full, said Grieve.
“We really do need an announcement for a new secondary school,” she said.
School districts are primarily funded based on student enrollment, and final numbers for the 2025-2026 school year won’t be known until the end of the month. The district had 15,580 students enrolled at the start of the last school year, a 42 percent increase from the previous scholastic year.
Interim district superintendent Mike McKay said enrollment looked solid as the first bell rang on Tuesday, but there’s always factors that can sway numbers up or down as people move to Kamloops and relocate elsewhere.
“We’re pretty cautious. Our enrollment looks solid. We don’t anticipate big growth. We don’t anticipate a big drop,” said McKay. “But the fact is on the second we open the doors, and every day through September, we get a better sense, and a more refined sense, of the realities.”
Administration worked hard to put together a budget that will sustain the school district for the coming year and all the pieces are in place for this session to be a successful one, he said.
With the potential for an increase in the student body, some parents become concerned that class sizes will grow and their child might not get the attention he or she needs. Grieve assured parents this will not be the case.
The collective agreement the school district has with staff puts a cap on class-size numbers depending on grade. Grieve said this prevents classes from growing too large.
“What that does mean, when we talk about space pressures, sometimes we need to find more classrooms as opposed to bulking up classrooms,” she said.
As students start school, the district and staff work together to best structure classes for the year ahead, said McKay.
He said graduation rates and literacy rates remain a focus for staff and administrators. Grieve added that providing meals for students from families who may be struggling with rising inflation is also a priority.
Each year there are challenges for students and staff alike. McKay said everyone from bus drivers to top administration is committed to making the year as successful as possible.
“We’ve got good people, they’re doing good work, and part of my job is to support not only that narrative, but to make sure they feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.
“I feel we are.”
The Kamloops Thompson Teachers Association (KTTA) Collective Agreement outlines the following class size limits for the Kamloops-Thompson School District:
- Kindergarten: 20 students
- Grade 1: 22 students
- Grade 2: 22 students
- Grade 3: 22 students
- Grade 3/4: 24 students
- Elementary Multi-Grade Intermediate: 27 students
- Elementary Intermediate Single Grade: 29 students
- Secondary English or Science Lab: 28 students
- Secondary Home Economics: 26 students
- Secondary Industrial Education: 24 students
- Other Secondary Classes: 29 students