Four months into the school year, enrolment in Garden Valley School Division (GVSD) is stable from where they started the year.  

As of September 30th, registration was up to 4,447, 100 more students than the board had projected.  At the end of November total enrolment had changed only slightly from the end of September, with 11 fewer students.
    
Superintendent Vern Reimer says however, there are two schools where enrolment is up. Garden Valley Collegiate has 46 more students than the board had projected, while Parkland Elementary, which is a kindergarten to grade 8 school in Winkler, has 31 more students.

Reimer said in preparation for the the 2016/17 school year, the board added a .75 teacher position at Parkland, and will be adding an additional .5 teacher for the remaining six months to address some of the needs brought on by the growth.  As for GVC, he said they are monitoring the needs there, and if additional staff is required, the process of hiring will go through the board in January.

With the ultimate implementation date of the 20-K3 initiative set for September of 2017, Reimer said at this point Parkland is not very compliant.  "In fact, in our K-3, we don't have any of the classes from kindergarten to grade 3, 20 students or less."  Of those particular grades, he said Parkland has one class of 25 students, the rest range between 21 and 23 students.

The 20-K3 initiative will require class sizes of 20 or fewer students in all Kindergarten through grade three classes. Reimer said there is provision for divisions that are not compliant to get exemptions. He said because of space, GVSD will have to do that.

A number of years back GVSD purchased land west of 15th Street in Winkler for a new kindergarten to grade 8 school.  Taking a longer range look at what the division's needs are, if they are awarded that new school, Reimer said "that would be the light at the end of the tunnel.  That would then permit the three city schools, J.R. Walkof, Winkler Elementary, and Parkland to send students to the new school to create much needed space for those K-3 classes that are to be 20 or less."

"In the interim, yes, we're still going to have some bigger classes because we don't have the space.  The only relief valve is additional portables."  Reimer noted they are currently in the process of doing space audits to see if they will qualify for more portables at J.R. Walkof and Parkland.

Related articles:

With Many Portables Still In Use, GVSD Continuing Push For New School

Garden Valley School Division Enrolment Spikes