An Okotoks mother plans to use an appeal system to keep her children at the K-Grade 9 Westmount School next year after the Foothills School Division revised its boundaries due to the opening of Meadow Ridge School in the fall.
“My son is in Grade 6 and my daughter is in Grade 4, at Westmount,” said Cindy Dorais, who lives in the Cimarron Springs area. “Next year, my daughter would be at Big Rock and my son at OJHS.
“We will appeal. I’m hoping that the appeal would correct the situation.”
Foothills School Division trustees set the boundaries at their March 6 meeting in High River. The boundaries are the same as was presented at a Jan. 24 public meeting in which changes, particularly in the southeast part of Okotoks, were requested.
At the Jan. 24 meeting at Dr. Morris Gibson School, there was a large contingency from the Cimarron Springs, Cimarron Vista and Cimarron Gardens area, located just west of Costco near the pond.
Children living in that area will attend the K to Grade 6 Big Rock School and Okotoks Junior High School starting in the fall. At present they attend Westmount School.
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Foothills has provisions to help families concerned about having their children move to a new school due to the boundary changes, said division chairman Larry Albrecht.
“The AP (administrative procedure) allows individuals and families to say ‘I want my child to go to school ‘x’ which is outside my boundary,’” Albrecht said. “They can apply and if they meet the criteria then they can get the approval to go to that school.”
Those criteria include issues such as students requiring a specific program, a student having a sibling attending that school of choice and other concerns.
At present there are 96 students in the Cimarron Garden area who will have to move to either Big Rock School or Okotoks Junior High School. There are 25 Grade 8 students (not included in that 96) who will be allowed to attend Westmount School for their Grade 9 year if they wish to do so.
Parents in that area, who are concerned about their children having to attend two schools from K to Grade 9, may also opt to go to Meadow Ridge.
Dorais’ situation is high in the criteria, which includes concerns about splitting siblings.
She attended the Jan. 24 meeting but is not confident the parents’ voices were heard.
“Not at all,” Dorais said. “If you look at the boundary where we are, had they just adjusted it to 32nd Street — there’s no further growth (east of 32nd) in any direction that would add additional kids.”
She said she felt there was room in other parts of Okotoks to make adjustments. She has her fingers crossed her appeal will be heard. If not, she may consider putting her children in other schools to keep them together, such as the private Edison School.
Joy Grills, who lives on Cimarron Springs, started and an online petition with more than 190 signatures, against the boundary adjustment in her area.
“We are very disappointed and quite frankly angry with the Westmount School boundary,” Grills said. “The board of trustees did not change anything in regards to the Westmount boundary.”
She will also appeal stating she will have to go through the arduous task of getting needed medical information for her son by the March 31 deadline.
“I have no negative thoughts about Big Rock, I just don’t want to start all over again,” she said.
Grills added parents in the Cimarron Gardens area will continue to beat the drums, possibly with protests at the division office in High River, adding some parents have verbally expressed taking legal action.
She admits the whole town is affected by the boundary change and that a new school is needed.
However, she feels the division is not looking at some of its own guidelines, such as walkability, in regards to the boundary changes.
Okotoks trustee Sharon Nichols said the public was heard on Jan. 24, as well as afterwards.
“We went back out to the community to hear everything,” Nichols said. “We wanted to contemplate that and address everything — what are those transportation routes, what were all the layers that we were looking at to make sure we were making the most sound decision for our kids and with the least disruption (for families).”
The AP will apply to all families, not just those in those in the Cimarron area.
High River trustee Jennifer Kristiansen cast the lone vote against the proposed boundary change.
The new Meadow Ridge School was needed due to crowding at Okotoks schools, particularly at Westmount, which at one time had utilization rates of more than 100 per cent. It is currently at a utilization rate of 93 per cent.
Schools are considered under pressure at around 85 per cent.
The projected utilization at Westmount for 2019-20 is 86 per cent, which does not include students with complex needs. Its enrolment will drop from its present 701 students to 613 next year.
At present all schools in the Okotoks area have utilization rates of more than 90 per cent, except Dr. Morris Gibson School, which is at 84 per cent.
Meadow Ridge School will have an anticipated 408 students next year with a utilization of 58.21 per cent. That number is expected to increase as Grade 9 is added.
The division does not provide transportation for students attending schools outside of their boundary.
For more information, including the criteria for the AP, go to www.fsd38.ab.ca/boundary
