Contentious high school trade in Windsor Park delayed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/10/2023 (877 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A controversial high school swap in Windsor Park is being pushed back one year due to renovation delays.

Staff and students from Windsor Park Collegiate and Collège Béliveau — located on neighbouring properties, steps from Winakwa Park — were anticipated to move into each others’ buildings at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

“There isn’t an urgency and so, we’re giving ourselves more time to better prepare the transition,” said Christian Michalik, superintendent of the Louis Riel School Division.

Division administration tabled the idea, along with a series of renovation projects to spruce up both sites, in 2022 as part of a wider plan to address the growing suburb of Sage Creek and long-term enrolment projections for French immersion.

Béliveau’s population is anticipated to outgrow its current building, originally constructed to be a junior high site, with about 300 more pupils enrolled annually in six years, Michalik said.

The English school (1015 Cottonwood Rd.) has numerous practical arts spaces and two gyms, one of which is equipped with a stage.

Around the corner, the immersion site (296 Speers Rd.) is roughly 19,000 fewer square feet and has a single gymnasium.

The plan to trade buildings has elicited frustrations among families in the English camp who continue to raise concerns students will lose access to specialty programming and claim LRSD is prioritizing its single-track immersion policy at their expense.

The board of trustees unanimously voted to delay the swap until September 2025 during a special meeting Tuesday night. Michalik then stopped by both buildings to personally deliver the update to their respective parent councils.

Community members reiterated calls to reconsider the plan entirely during a tense meeting at WPC. At least one attendee began to cry as she spoke about feeling unheard amid the school-swap saga.

“There is no rationale for the swap because it is based on Béliveau busting and they’re at 648, and their capacity’s 650 and we’re at 728 and our capacity’s 700,” said Ina Prokipchuk, an alum and mother of a recent graduate of WPC.

An influx of new immigrants and housing developments in the area should prompt a review, said Prokipchuk, who was on the parent council when the plans were first released.

Both WPC and Béliveau are aging facilities and their respective student populations deserve “modernization,” she told attendees — including representatives from senior administration and the elected school board — at the hybrid meeting.

Béliveau’s parent advisory council issued a statement Wednesday, saying its executive team understands change is difficult but it supports the proposal.

The statement indicates French-immersion elementary schools in the area have experienced ongoing capacity issues in recent years and less-than-ideal accommodations have been required.

“We see this proposal as yet another accommodation that is needed in order to serve all students as best as possible for the long term,” an email sent by chairwoman Eryn Barthel said.

“We appreciate that there are conflicting emotions for all parties involved. While change can be uncertain, our goal is to advocate for all students to receive an inclusive and quality education and to promote lifelong learning.”

J.H. Bruns Collegiate is also being impacted by catchment changes being put in place to address enrolment pressures. English-track high schoolers from Sage Creek will be redirected there next fall.

Alex Razos, chairman of its parent council, wrote to trustees earlier this year to urge them to consider the implications of Bruns, WPC and other English-language high schools recording unexpected growth in 2023-24.

LRSD administration has indicated its long-term projections remain unchanged, despite some variances in enrolment this year.

The Louis Riel Teachers’ Association declined to comment on the matter.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca