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Hundreds of students to be moved from Harbour Landing School amid overcrowding issues

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The Regina Public School Board announced that a boundary change will see approximately 200 students moved from Harbour Landing School to Ethel Milliken School.

The announcement comes as the joint-use facility’s enrollment has neared legal capacity limits.

“The boundary change really is because we’re at a point [where] we have to make a decision. There's no more waiting,” Adam Hicks, a trustee on the Regina Public School Board told CTV News.

“We're hitting close to those legal limits of how many people we can actually have in the building. So, the boundary changes really are about easing the pressure off of this building behind me and moving some students soon to some other buildings that have a little bit of room in them.”

According to a letter from the Regina Public School Division, around 200 students from the southern portion of Harbour Landing will be moved to Ethel Milliken School for the upcoming 2023/2024 school year until the new Harbour Landing West School opens in 2026.

“Ethel Milliken is one of the last resorts we have,” Hicks explained.

“We've asked for two portables from the province, we received funding for one additional one but they are bursting at the seams. There's no more music room, there's no art room, there's absolutely nothing but classrooms.”

A list of the affected residences include:

  • 4850 Harbour Landing Drive – all units
  • 5004 James Hill Road – all units
  • 4669 to 4889 James Hill Road

- All Addresses:

  • Padwick Road
  • Padwick Avenue
  • Padwick Crescent
  • Cornell Gate
  • Crane Crescent
  • Beacon Way
  • Beacon Drive
  • Beacon Place
  • Cessna Way
  • Fairchild Rod
  • Gilbert Crescent
  • Norseman Crescent

Students in the temporary boundary area will be offered free bussing to Ethel Milliken School, the letter explained.

Affected students beginning Grade 8 and their younger siblings will be given the option to stay at Harbour Landing School for the 2023-2024 year only.

These students will also have the option to attend Sheldon Williams Collegiate or Campbell Collegiate after graduating Grade 8, the letter said.

Both Harbour Landing School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha School opened in September of 2017 as a joint-use complex.

The Ministry of Education calculates enrollment based on full time equivalency (FTE).

The facility was designed to house a combined 1,250 FTEs between the two schools.

As of September of 2022, enrollment has risen to a combined 1,553 FTEs, leaving the school to depend on a 10 per cent absentee rate to continue functioning.

Kindergarten students count as 0.5 of an FTE while all other grades count as one.

The Regina Public School Division will be hosting an open house at the Harbour Landing School on March. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Administration will be available for questions from parents and guardians, the letter stated.

The temporary boundary change will be presented to the Regina Public School Board on March. 21.

Boundary changes and the transferring of students is not new to the Harbour Landing area. Two years ago, 200 students were moved from the French immersion program at Harbour Landing School to Dr. A. E. Perry Elementary School due to overcrowding concerns.

The upcoming boundary change will increase the total of transferred students to 400.

“In my seven years on the school board, it is the most unfortunate situation I have ever seen … It is something that was avoidable and unfortunately we as a board are put in an extremely tough spot,” Hicks explained.

“It's going to impact families and it's going to impact children. This isn't just the numbers we need to be talking about, it is students that are going to be impacted.”

With files from CTV News Regina’s Allison Bamford.

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