The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District has been experiencing increasing enrolment growth at the elementary level over the past couple of years. Last year’s restoration of the collective agreement language regarding class size and class composition has resulted in a full utilization of elementary school facilities ahead of the projected time line.
Current enrolment in Central Capital Zone elementary schools (the zone in which Maple Ridge Secondary is situated) already exceeds the operating capacity of these schools. The school district is forecasting that elementary enrolment will continue to increase over the next several years. The district is not forecasting that overall enrolment increases at the secondary level will exceed available capacity in its facilities over the next 10 years.
In October 2015, the district strategic facilities plan identified the Maple Ridge Secondary Annex and the South Lillooet Centre as two facilities in the Central Capital Zone that could be converted to elementary schools to accommodate growth in this area. In September 2017, the renovated South Lillooet campus reopened as the Yennadon elementary annex, temporarily relieving some of the enrolment growth pressures from the Central Capital Zone area. The district also added one or more portables at each of the elementary school sites in the Central Capital Zone.
Because elementary enrolment continues to increase, the school district must prepare to convert the Maple Ridge Secondary Annex back into an elementary school. It is anticipated that the project will take at least one year to complete.
For additional information about this conversion, including the timeline, background information, and frequently asked questions, download the MRSS Annex Fact Sheet.