The school district is seeing the effects of some shifting of students during the first few months of the school year after the teachers’ strike.
The district’s brick-and-mortar schools are down approximately 80 students from projections, district superintendent Steve McNiven told board trustees at their meeting on Nov. 19.
However, in many ways that’s because students have changed schools, he said.
Some of the ways the numbers are skewed is by an increase in students in the south end of the district (Princeton schools) and a substantial increase at the South Central Interior Distance Education School (SCIDES).
“We have seen a dramatic increase at the distance education school,” McNiven said. “We projected a FTE [full-time enrolment] of 80, and we’re up over 200.”
McNiven said the increased enrolment at the local distance education school represents a growing number of students taking different pathways through Grades 11 and 12.
Merritt Secondary School is down 45 students from projections, while Bench Elementary is up 10.
McNiven estimated the district lost between 25 and 30 students to area band schools during the strike.
The next enrolment projections come out in February.
