Important Update re LPCI Over-Enrolment Issue – November, 2014
LPCI has been overcapacity since 2008. This year the school is at approximately 150% capacity with over 1,300 students. Projections indicate continued growth for several years. The “fire plan maximum” of 1368 students will be exceeded next year. The LPCI parent council has been expressing concern to the school administration and TDSB staff about this situation for several years now. The following possible solutions have been proposed to ease the space and resource crunch being felt as a result of the overcrowding at the school:
- Closing the school to optional enrolment (currently the school is listed as limited)
- Removing current out of district students inappropriately attending LPCI
- Better enforcement of boundaries
- Changing the boundaries
- Relocating the French program (Immersion and Extended) to another school
- Bringing in portables
- Building additional space
Monday November 3, Peter Chang, our new TDSB School Superintendent, attended the parent council meeting to discuss this matter. Most of the above options were dismissed, but the relocation of the French program was noted by Mr. Chang as a possibility. He noted that removing the 600 students currently attending LPCI in the French program (400 Immersion and 200 Extended) would resolve the overcrowding problem. There is a 6-8 month review process, plus notification period, required to relocate a French program. If the review took place this year and recommended relocation, the move would likely occur in the fall 2016. No official relocation process has begun or is planned as of yet, and no destination school was identified. Consultation with parents would be an important part of such a process.
Mr. Chang promised to seriously consider closing LPCI to optional enrolment for next year, but warned that this change would impact siblings of current students attending LPCI under optional enrolment as well as any new optional attendance applicants. He will be communicating his decision as to whether the school’s status will be changed from limited to closed to all LPCI parents before the upcoming Christmas break.
If you have concerns about the overcapacity issue at LPCI and/or the solutions being proposed, you can communicate these directly to Mr. Chang at P.*****@td**.ca
See Superintendent Chang’s letter (November 11, 2014)