Why A New Public High School for Stittsville is Needed NOW!

Why A New Public High School for
Stittsville is Needed NOW!
South Carleton High School is no longer adequate
• South Carleton High School in the Village of
Richmond opened its doors in 1952 to 263
students – over 60 years ago.
Source: http://www.southcarletonhs.ocdsb.ca/
• Since this time, the population of Stittsville
has exploded and one rural public high school
located 17+ kms to its south (with no OC
Transpo service) will not be able to
accommodate the rapid growth we will see…
Population Boom in Stittsville
From 27,000 in 2011…
…to 51,000 by 2021 (in only 6 years)
…to 71,000 by 2031 (16 years)
Source: City of Ottawa
Comparing Cities:
• Orangeville ON – population of 27,975 (2011)
– TWO English public high schools
– (plus ONE Catholic high school)
• Welland ON – population of 50,631 (2011)
– TWO English public high schools
– ONE French public high school
– (plus TWO Catholic high schools, 1 is French)
• Sarnia ON - population of 72,366 (2011)
– FOUR English public high schools
– ONE French public high school
– (plus THREE Catholic high schools, 1 is French)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
The Fernbank
Development
•
•
•
674 hectares of land off Terry
Fox Drive
Expected to be completed
within 20 years
Estimated population growth
of 30,000+ residents from
this development alone



Construction started
in January 2013
448 homes are occupied
138 are under
construction
Source: City of Ottawa
A $6.4M addition to A.Y. Jackson in Kanata has been requested.
The Fernbank “boom” would be better accommodated by a
NEW PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN STITTSVILLE
A $6.4M addition to
West Carleton High
School in Dunrobin is
also being requested…
Adjust the boundary
so students go to a
NEW PUBLIC HIGH
SCHOOL IN
STITTSVILLE
More development in Stittsville:
Richmond is also expanding…
• From approximately 1,550 to 7,800 dwelling units
• Richmond/Rural West (Village of Richmond + rural portions of former
Township of Rideau & Nepean) had an approximate population
of 15,530 in 2013
- projected to rise to 18,140 by 2018, an increase of 14%
• The 0-14 age groups are projected to increase by approximately 14%
between 2013 and 2018.
There will be even more children from Richmond attending both
South Carleton and Sacred Heart high schools, increasing the need
for a school to accommodate the Stittsville students
Source:
https://bboard.ocsb.ca/bbcswebdav/institution/OCSB%20Corporate/Board%20Departments/Directorate%20and%20Corporate%20Services/Communications/Webmaster%20Files/Pl
anning%20%26%20Facilities%20Department/Updated%20Capital%20Priorities%20-%202013.pdf
Richmond Developments:
Local High School Capacity and Enrollment
The numbers for South Carleton High
School that imply it is “under-capacity”
are deceiving
– 3 portables on site for 2014-2015
…Sacred Heart Catholic High School is
operating at 105% over-capacity with 6
portables in 2014-2015.
Sources: http://www.ocdsb.ca/ab-ocdsb/f-n-f-qs/Pages/default.aspx and
https://bboard.ocsb.ca/bbcswebdav/institution/OCSB%20Corporate/Board%20Departments/Directorate%20and%20Corporate%20Services/Communicatio
ns/Webmaster%20Files/Planning%20%26%20Facilities%20Department/Updated%20Capital%20Priorities%20-%202013.pdf
Why is Sacred Heart over-crowded and
South Carleton “under-capacity”?
“…it is generally felt that about 10 to
perhaps up to 15 percent of students in
high school at Sacred Heart come from the
public elementary school system. This
would be consistent over recent years.”
Source: John Curry, Ottawa Catholic School Board Trustee (Zone 1)
If 10 to perhaps up to 15 percent come from the
public elementary school system…
• October 2014 enrolment at Sacred Heart was 1,652
students (down from 1,775 previously )
– so possibly 165 to 248 of those had transferred from public
– that does not include non-Catholic kids who parents have
started them in the Catholic elementary just because they
plan to send them to Sacred Heart:
“A friend of mine just switched her daughter from public to
Catholic - she's in grade 3. My friend decided to do the 'jump'
now, when her daughter is 'younger' and hopefully will adjust to
new friends/classes easier then in 3 years when she would
switch her to Catholic to keep her in a Stittsville school” – “Jen”
The South Carleton conundrum:
• Capacity is 1,344 students
• Enrollment in October 2014 was 1,042
students
– 302 students short of capacity this year
• If the estimated 165 to 248 students coming
to Sacred Heart stayed in the public system,
South Carleton would easily reach capacity!
Why is Sacred Heart over-crowded and
South Carleton “under-capacity”?
“Our principal told us a few years ago that
approximately 40% of our population is nonCatholic. …I would suspect that many of that
group are at Sacred Heart because they want to
go to school closer to home or because the
school is newer and bigger.”
-
Teacher at Sacred Heart High School
The numbers are skewed…
• Many parents in the Stittsville public school system are
sending their children to Sacred Heart instead of South
Carleton because it is closer, thereby skewing the
numbers that would show the TRUE NEED for a new
public high school in Stittsville:
“Of the 9 boys in my son's grade 6 class last year (2012), 7 have
gone to Sacred Heart. Only 1 went to Goulbourn Middle School
and the other moved to Toronto. The parents I talked to said it
was because it's walking distance from home instead of an early
morning bus ride. Makes it easy for after school sports and
clubs” - Stittsville Public School mom
Does any of this make sense?
12 buses travel
between
Stittsville &
South Carleton
at a cost of
$400,000+/year
43% of
students at
South Carleton
are Stittsville
residents
Other area high
schools are
close to/over
capacity,
especially
Sacred Heart &
AY Jackson
Source: Lynn Scott, Public School Board Trustee, Zone 1
The Solution – a new public high school in Stittsville:
• would address immediate and future needs of
Stittsville residents for a public high school given
the booming population
• could also address additional expansion needs for
A.Y. Jackson and West Carleton high schools, as
the proposed location for the Stittsville high
school can serve western Kanata and even Carp
• would address over-crowding at Sacred Heart and
other area high schools, and keep students in the
public system