Updating their central division office will be a priority for the Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) going forward.
“We need to perhaps look at doing an expansion towards the south. We don't have room right now. People are sharing offices. Sometimes there are two or three people in one office,” explained Superintendent Joe Arruda, during the Dec. 18 board meeting.
The need for more space stems from the consistent growth LCSD has been experiencing within the last few years. Rising student enrolment has created the need for additional staff, both in schools and at the LCSD central office.
Schools have jumped nearly 20 per cent in enrolment in the last two years, with no signs of slowing down.
“Currently, we're short on space because our board has grown so much in the last two years. Our student enrolment has gone up 18.5 per cent in that time, which has resulted in increased staff,” said LCSD communications officer Amanda Wildman.
With no space to house the additional staff, LCSD has been forced to spread their resources across the region. However, the board believes staff can operate more efficiently under one roof.
“Our district staff are housed in three separate buildings. We have staff at our central office, our technology and maintenance shop in Cold Lake, and portables in Cold Lake,” Wildman explained.
The central office is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to expansion plans for LCSD. With schools such as Holy Family Catholic School considered over capacity, the board will include school expansion or modernization in their future plans.
“We definitely need to discuss our increase in enrolment with the minister. It's a very positive thing, but some of our spaces have really become stretched,” explained Wildman.
They'll look to make the issue a talking point when they present their three-year capital plan to the Minister of Education during their scheduled Jan. 17, 2018 meeting.
Discussions on a possible expansion are in the primary stages, so the board can't be sure what exactly it would look like. So far, the possibility of installing a permanent add-on to the south wing, or bringing in portable space have been considered as viable options.
“The space lacks meeting rooms, it lacks professional development facilities, and we have staff sharing offices,” detailed Wildman. “At this time, the board hasn't agreed to anything. We're in the discussion and evaluation stage, which has been ongoing for the last year.”
