Blake Ellis/The Independent

Lambton-Kent District School Board may look at changing school boundaries to deal with changing demographics in the region and growing enrolment..

Jack Ammondelia, a managing partner of Watson and Associates, made a presentation to the school board Dec. 10, laying out some statistics that will be included in the long term and accommodation plan which will be presented to trustees during their first meeting in 2025.

The school board has very little control when it comes to its enrolment, said Ammondelia.

School board can only react to the increase or decrease of students while managing its fixed assets of schools, many of which were built 50 to 60 years ago.

Communities within the board’s catchment area are estimating to have 9,500 new housing starts across Lambton Kent in the next 10 years. It is estimated 58 percent of births in the region end up resulting in students in Junior Kindergarten within Lambton Kent public schools. If this kind of growth is realized, Ammondelia says, there will be a 10 percent increase in enrolment.

The school board is already feeling the pinch. Plympton-Wyoming Public School which is about five years old, already has a portable. Planning officials say with several new subdivisions in Wyoming, an addition will soon be needed. Errol Village School is working on an addition now, but its not expected to ease all the overcrowding problems.

One of the ways to deal with increasing enrolment will be school boundary reviews, said Ammondelia.
It’s something the board has not done in the last decade, according to Associate Director Brian McKay.
Boundary reviews are always done when there is a school consolidation.

Ontario was placed on a moratorium on school closures in 2017 which prevents boards from merging or closing underutilized schools.

Lambton Kent’s Director of Education John Howitt said this is a great time for trustees to have this conversation. With a full 10 percent growth expected, this means an additional 2,300 students.
There are currently 8,000 empty spaces throughout schools in Lambton Kent.

“Why should we have a portable anywhere,” said Howitt, adding geography doesn’t always make this solution easy.