Burnaby considers staggered start for five high schools to address enrolment challenges

Capacity issues due to the rising student population have been an issue in Surrey schools, and now this problem has surfaced in Burnaby resulting in staggered schedules.

In an email to parents, the Burnaby School District says increased enrolment has caused them to consider adjusting the start and end time of school by creating an extra block at five high schools for the next school year.

These schools include École Alpha Secondary School, Moscrop Secondary School, Burnaby Central Secondary School, Burnaby North Secondary School and Burnaby Mountain Secondary School.

“Our district is having huge capacity issues, capacity issues meaning we don’t have enough space for all of our students,” said Harinder Parmar, Chair at Burnaby District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC).

“If you’ve got one kid starting earlier or later, and then the other one starting at a different time, that can create a lot of issues for families. Extracurricular activities are going to be a big one, if they have different start and end times …lots of different ways it can impact, including the whole sense of community, which is so important.”

Staggered schedules are already in place in the Surrey School District. Surrey DPAC President Anne Whitmore says families say it’s extremely challenging to deal with staggered schedules.

“What we’re hearing from families is that this is extremely challenging, not only they have this semester, but then as they head into the next term, there might be additional shifting within the logistics of a family,” she said.

Whitmore says the district says each school site costs an additional $200,000 to $400,000, and that can be $1.5 million to $2.5. million per year because Surrey does not have enough space for its students.

As more districts deal with overcrowding, the BC DPAC Coalition has penned an open letter to the provincial government asking for faster funding and expansions for schools.

“DPAC is asking for the government to fully fund the capital projects and spaces for students. There’s been a loophole by not funding portables and I know that they’re now addressing that by building modulars, but modulars do not increase school spaces,” Whitmore said.

Parmar says she would like education to be made a priority.

“When we’re building our communities, when we’re planning our cities, that we’re not thinking of schools as an afterthought,” she said.

In a statement to CityNews, the Burnaby School District says while no final decision has been made, it’s looking to keep potential change to a minimum while ensuring the quality of educational experience for students.