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 south of Highway 417 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/Planning%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… …Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Stittsville was operating at 105% over-capacity with 6 portables in 2012-2013.

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…

• 2014-2015 enrolment at Sacred Heart was 1,775 students – so possibly 178 to 266 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”

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 non-Catholic. …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

12 buses travel between

Stittsville & South Carleton

at a cost of $800,000/year

Does any of this make sense?

Other area high schools are over

capacity, especially

Sacred Heart & AY Jackson

43% of students at

South Carleton are Stittsville

residents

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 Catholic high schools, and keep students in the public system