Surrey schools need long-term solutions for overcrowded classrooms: councillor

The Surrey school district is asking parents for their input when it comes to dealing with overcrowding in classrooms, as it launched a survey Monday proposing different strategies to address the problem.

The strategies include school “shifts,” tri-semester schooling, hybrid online learning models, and bussing students to out-of-catchment schools.

But Surrey Coun. Linda Annis says that any alternatives to building the “much-needed new schools” highlights the “incredible struggle” that Surrey has when it comes to the annual student increase.

In a statement Tuesday, Annis adds that the district should be working harder to push local MLAs for more funding to build schools at a faster rate.

“That includes being more creative about planning and construction. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The survey opened for parents, along with district staff and guardians of students to give their input on the alternatives.

“Asking parents to weigh in on options … reinforces just how bad the situation has become in our city,” said Annis.

She also says that the growing school population has been an issue for years with “temporary portables” only being a short-term solution.

“It’s clear that the situation has gone far beyond just adding ever-increasing numbers of portables. It has become more serious each school year. The province has put our school board, and our city and its families in a precarious position when it comes to educating our city’s students,” Annis said.

“Second best should not be an acceptable education option for our city and its families, and our city and its taxpayers need to speak up.”

“The need for new schools has been obvious for years, but it has been neglected and ignored, and now we are suffering the consequences of years of inaction. The fact is the provincial government is not keeping up when it comes to building schools in our city.”