Challenges ahead for School District 52 as numbers decline

In four years there may be half the number of high school students attending classes in Prince Rupert and the number of teachers there to teach may be on the decline as well.

The number crunching continues on at the School District offices as they examine the twin issues of declining student enrollment and fast arriving retirement schedules for District teachers.

It's estimated that if current trends continue that within four years there will be five hundred less students in the high school system, the equivalent of almost the entire population of one of the cities two high schools.

The Wednesday Daily News outlined some of the challenges that the School District faces in the coming years.

Schools brace for falling numbers
School district predicts a drop of around 500 students in near future
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Pages one and two

If student enrollment continues to drop at current rates, School District 52 may only have half today's number of high school students in four years.

The number of total students in Prince Rupert has been dropping by around 100 each year.
"Most of the country has been dealing with elementary school closures because that's where the low birth rates appear first," said Eric Mercer, School District 52 Superintendent of Schools.

"This is closing in on close to a decade where we've seen these kinds of numbers.

"While the high schools have not seen enrollment decline, this will be year one of their decline. Each year will see smaller numbers coming in through the high school years, which we have identified."

The district currently predicts a drop of as many as 500 students at the secondary level in the next four to five years, which would amount to nearly the entire population of one of the district's two high schools.

"We're going to have to be creative with our plan to address this," said Mercer.

"We also have a large number of staff retirements happening in the next few years which will pose significant challenges for us," said Mercer.

At September's school board meeting Mercer reported that B.C. is experiencing a critical shortage of principals throughout the province.

He reported that 40 per cent of teachers in B.C. are now above the age of 50.

The official 2008-2009 enrollment numbers for School District 52 and all other schools in the province will be announced in early October.