INNISFAIL/PENHOLD - Enrolment numbers at Innisfail and Penhold schools have remained relatively steady compared to last year.
“Within both communities they're holding pretty steady as far as enrolment goes,” said Kurt Sacher, Chinook's Edge School Division superintendent. “There's not a significant change in enrolment.”
Enrolment data provided by the school division shows the biggest change was at École John Wilson Elementary School, where, as of Sept. 30, 496 students are attending versus 417 last year.
A good chunk of that increase is because of the closure of Chinook Center School last year, with most of the students now attending John Wilson.
There was only a 16-student swing at Ecole Innisfail Middle School, with 396 students in 2016 and 380 starting out in 2017. Innisfail High School has 41 students less compared to 2016; 347 students last year compared to 306 this year.
In Penhold, elementary schools showed the bigger swings in the growing community. The addition of some relocatable classrooms allowed Grade 2 students to remain at Jessie Duncan Elementary. There are 236 students enrolled at that school this year compared to 168 last year. And at Penhold Elementary, there are 198 students enrolled this year compared to 276 last year.
Penhold Crossing Secondary School only saw a four-student swing; 330 enrolled this year and 326 last year.
“Our overall class size numbers have not changed, we've sustained, we're committed to quite low numbers, particularly at the primary end, and we've been able to sustain those numbers,” said Sacher.
He said that doesn't mean there's not the odd challenge, “but overall we're very pleased with where we were able to get to given the fact that we've had eroding resources for the past five years in a row.”
He noted costs are going up and revenues don't increase at the same rate. He said the school board has been committed to making sure as much money flows to the classrooms as possible, helping maintain class sizes by looking for efficiencies where they can be found.
“If there are increased numbers we usually apply increased staffing,” he said of keeping classroom size changes minimal.
