Welcoming the new K- 9 school in Okotoks means embracing boundary changes.

The school is scheduled to open in September of 2019 and this means some students will be switching to the new building.

Assistant Superintendent of the Foothills School Division Drew Chipman, says the shift is necessary.

"When you're opening a new school you have to get the kids from somewhere so we have four other schools in town that have similar grade configurations so all of those things are on the table as we talk with the community and see which way makes sense to change those boundaries. There will be students that are excited about going to a new school, there will be students that want to stay at their current school," he explains. "It's always a time where there's a bit of unrest but it's an exciting time."

Chipman says the boundary changes will help alleviate some capacity pressures in current schools.

"It has a capacity for 700 students so we're not going to open it at capacity, at least we don't intend to, so we're going to be trying to get some more room in those other schools that are close to capacity. It's exciting from that perspective, we'll be able to balance out the numbers throughout the schools here in Okotoks and people will be able to have a little bit more elbow room in the school they're in."

Consultations will begin shortly for the boundary changes with any changes being finalized by the Spring of 2019.

 

Send us your news tips, story ideas and comments at news@highriveronline.com