There has been frustration building in Durham Region lately over what parents and teachers say is a lack of urgency to address overcrowding in schools.
The Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario Durham local tells CityNews the increase in population is being felt by a lot of schools in the area.null
“This has been a problem that has been multiplying year over year,” said Mary Fowler, president of ETFO Durham. “We’ve got an exploding population which is a great thing … [but] schools are not prepared for the numbers we’re seeing.”
Finding space at some Durham elementary schools has been a challenge. In some cases, students have been placed in makeshift classrooms in libraries, staff rooms and gyms.
The Durham District School Board said these are temporary strategies to accommodate increased enrollment.
The Ministry of Education said fluctuating student enrollment is the responsibility of school boards, adding, it provided boards with over two million dollars at the start of the year, to help.
“We have a government that has a $22 billion dollar surplus, but isn’t investing in the schools our kids need,” said Fowler.
The Ministry of Education says the province provided over $164 million to both the public and catholic school boards in Durham for four new elementary schools and two new secondary schools, accounting for 5,150 more student spaces, but said none of them have been opened at this time.
The DDSB says there’s been an increase of 9,000 students since 2019 with a current population of 79,000 this year. To meet the rapid growth, it’s continuing to proactively seek approval from the ministry to create new schools.
“DDSB enrollment growth (from 70k students in 2019 to 79k in 2023) is increasing at a level greater than what these new schools will accommodate and will require ongoing and increased capital investment from the Ministry in new schools,” said the school board.
“Ultimately, the decision to proceed rests with the Ministry. It is also important to note that the timing of school construction does not always align with the speed of residential growth – the approval, funding, and construction period can be lengthy,” added the board.
Both ETFO and the board say there’s been hurdles.
“When the board puts forward these proposals, they’re not always approved by the government. We have had delays. It’s a cumbersome process. It takes a long time in order for those schools to be approved. So we’re currently not building schools in Durham at the rate that they need to be,” said Fowler.
However, the Ministry of Education said it’s on the board. “In some comparable boards, schools are approved then opened on average within two-three years. Yet, in Durham, it is taking often twice the length. We urge the DDSB to expedite delivery, get shovels in the ground, and open schools quicker for local families,” said a ministry spokesperson.
And the problem is not going away anytime soon. “We absolutely need to have more schools and retrofits to schools in order to have great schools here in Durham.”
The school board also adding that Durham Region’s population, which is currently over 743,000 expected to increase to 1.3 million by 2051.
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