École LaVérendrye's Milieu program continues but its catchment area is made smaller by adding a new Milieu program to Sir William Osler. The changes outlined below would be phased in over several years. Details include the following:
- École LaVérendrye student population would be reduced by making the catchment area for the school smaller.
- A new Milieu program would be established at Sir William Osler (currently a host to various education programs) to account for those students attending (or who would attend) École LaVérendrye, but now fall outside of the catchment area. Students already enrolled in École LaVérendrye and their younger siblings could remain at École LaVérendrye for the duration of their Nursery to grade 6 schooling.
- Most programs at Sir William Osler would be relocated to other facilities within the Division.
- Programs and students at Robert H. Smith and Earl Grey School would be unaffected.
Like the option involving Robert H. Smith, if this were proposed and implemented years ago, when enrollment concerns were first raised, it may have been a viable solution, and would have avoided the urgency we're faced with today. At this point, it does nothing to address the immediate capacity concerns at LaVérendrye.
- It will take years for LaVérendrye's enrollment to be reduced to acceptable levels, since existing students and siblings will be grandfathered, if they wish.
- Sir William Osler is a small building, with a stated capacity of 200 (not factoring in ancillary programs like child care, music, and art). There is a real possibility that neighborhood families who would have otherwise enrolled in the dual track program at J.B. Mitchell will take advantage of having a milieu program in walking distance, and enroll at Sir William Osler instead, filling the new program to capacity in very short order.
- Winnipeg School Division has indicated that a new catchment division line would likely be drawn at Stafford Ave, meaning that families living as close as two blocks from LaVérendrye would need to be bused to Sir William Osler instead of walking to their neighborhood school.
- Even though existing LaVérendrye families will be grandfathered, they may not be able to retain their existing bus service, since they will now be considered out-of-catchment. This may force some LaVérendrye students to leave relationships they've forged over the years at LaVérendrye.
- Sir William Osler has not been used for school-age children for years, and requires many upgrades to conform to current standards, including a new gymnasium ($4 million), playground facilities, and other interior renovations.
This solution will force several LaVérendrye families to leave their school community behind, will take years for the catchment change to reduce enrollment to acceptable levels, and will likely result in similar capacity issues at Sir William Osler in a few years.
We need a solution that is viable for the long term, and provides immediate relief for LaVérendrye's critical overcrowding.
