Overcrowded schools are a growing problem, but school boards struggling to get new ones built

As the largest and fastest-growing school district in British Columbia, Surrey's boom is straining its schools, pushing it to try unconventional options to accommodate the surge.

Clusters of portable classrooms have become a familiar sight. Some schools have rejected in-catchment students for lack of space. This fall, a third of Surrey's high schools will extend the school day, creating an additional learning period and boosting capacity by 15 per cent.

"That's going to be a challenge for both staff and students to adjust to — and we don't see that as a temporary measure. That's going to be more of a permanent measure as we move forward and really try and manage this growth," said Mark Pearmain, district superintendent and CEO.

Surrey School District superintendent Mark Pearmain is seen amid a cluster of portable classrooms at Fleetwood Park Secondary in Surrey on Monday. The district has already been implementing different measures to accommodate explosive growth in student enrollment, with additional strategies to be explored. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Overcrowding has been an ongoing issue for Surrey for years, but it's not alone. Multiple school boards across the country are grappling with the issue, or projecting they will be soon.

After a slight dip in 2020-2021 (the first full school year of the pandemic), Surrey School District's enrolment soared past its usual increases of about 800 students annually to more than 2,400 in each of the past two.

Approximately 83 per cent of its 124 schools are over capacity, with the district's overall utilization rate (the number of students enrolled divided by classroom capacity) sitting at 103 per cent.

Staffers are currently researching hybrid learning for senior high schoolers and having students attend two out of three terms in a year-long trimester system, as the district anticipates further increases after a planned transit expansion connects Surrey to downtown Vancouver.

While more housing is top of mind for federal, provincial and municipal governments, "as we talk about infrastructure, schools are a very important piece," too, Pearmain said.

WATCH | Population surges in different communities worsen school overcrowding:

One province over in Alberta, there's a comparable situation. Migration from B.C. and Ontario has boosted its population. Enrolment has surged as a result at both the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and Edmonton Public Schools after an early-pandemic dip.

Calgary's current system-wide utilization rate is 92 per cent across its 251 schools, which CBE projects will rise to 100 per cent in the next two years. Given recent leaps in enrolment, Edmonton Public projects its 213 schools will reach 100 per cent utilization by 2026-2027.

Smaller communities aren't immune, either. The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, headquartered in Peterborough, Ont., is exploring redrawing its school boundaries and shifting special program offerings as it contends with a board-wide utilization rate of 97 per cent.

Schools 'a canary in a coal mine' for change: expert

A  "perfect storm" of factors in the past few years has contributed to the overcrowding, says urban and regional planner Jack Ammendolia, from the affordability crisis influencing where people choose to raise their children, to the increase in newcomers to Canada.

It already takes upwards of three to five years to apply for a new school or expansion, get approval for it and start building. Boards start at a disadvantage: proposals begin with schools required to demonstrate need — thus already struggling with capacity.

WATCH | Building new schools is a process that's 'very much catch-up': 

The consultant says schools are "a bit of a canary in a coal mine" for communities.

"The school board is the one going, 'Holy cow, we have eight extra [kindergarten students] that no one projected for' or, 'There's 100 extra kids that showed up at the school. Where did they come from?'" said Ammendolia, a managing partner of Toronto-area consulting firm Watson & Associates.

School boards don't dictate immigration policy or determine their regions' housing developments, he pointed out, but still must react quickly to population shifts, since kids are required to go to school.

They also rely on provincial funding for everything from operations to new construction, so "if [they] didn't get the money for that addition ... they're a bit handcuffed, as well," he said.

According to Gus Riveros, an associate professor in Western University's education faculty, "funding overall for public education has not kept pace with inflation and other needs, so what we see is that the backlog in school construction and school repairs keeps growing."

Against that backdrop, boards may then lean on what should be temporary measures — like portable classrooms — for too long, which is not a suitable solution, said Riveros, whose research includes the use of portables in Ontario.

The interior of a portable classroom in New Brunswick is seen in August 2023. Portables should be a temporary solution to overcrowding, says Western University associate professor Gus Riveros. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)

Riveros has found portables being used for more than five and even 10 years. He says that's problematic for reasons including high maintenance requirements over time, concerns with mould, pests, ventilation and air quality, and the loss of outdoor school space. It also means more kids and teens vying for common areas such as libraries, gyms, cafeterias and washrooms.

"The physical conditions of the learning environment have an impact on the learning experience of the students."

More collaboration, new processes needed

Stakeholders involved — from parents to educators, urban planners to community members — are calling for more innovative thinking and better co-ordination to address the issue faster.

Patricia Collins, an associate professor at Queen's University's school of urban and regional planning, has studied school closures in Ontario. She notes that a community that closes a school might find themselves just five to 10 years struggling with overcrowding in those that remain.

She'd like to see provinces encourage municipalities and school boards to better align their borders as well as their population projections and planning. She also hopes for collaborative solutions, for instance a school and a municipal facility sharing a site, or a public school adjoining a Catholic one.

"I think you really do need some more hands-on involvement at the provincial level to ensure that there is just more co-ordination happening across those different entities," she said.

Ammendolia agrees, saying that the complexity of this issue also requires bringing provincial ministries, developers and private stakeholders to the table.

"It has to be something that everyone looks at ... as a collaborative effort. Then I think there's some real possibility for schools that not only get built faster, but get built when they're needed," he said.

Surrey parent Cindy Dalglish, whose daughters have attended overcrowded schools for years, wants to see improvement in how school capital projects are approved and funded. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Back in Surrey, parent Cindy Dalglish's two kids have attended overcrowded schools for years, including in an elementary school juggling multiple portables. Now, her elder daughter is at a high school extending its day.

Regardless of which political party is in charge, the way provincial ministries of education fund new schools and expansions must change, she says.

"It needs to be based on projections and [the] current state and making those moves happen a lot faster."