Catchment boundaries will change as Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools works toward re-opening Rutherford Elementary School.
A working group formed last year to assist with prepping the school for a 2025 re-opening and at a special board meeting Wednesday, May 15, trustees voted to send the group’s recommendations out for public consultation. The recommendations include new catchment areas around Rutherford and Frank J. Ney elementary schools.
Based on a school district map, the new Rutherford catchment would go as far west as Brickyard Road, McGirr Road and Turner Road; as far south as Butcher Road, Georgiaview Crescent, Vanderneuk Road, Lost Lake Road and Dewar Road; and as far east as Westdale Road.
Enrolment and anticipated construction numbers informed staff when revamping catchment, noted a May 8 business committee report. Frank J. Ney, with 434 students currently, would see the biggest swing as it would lose its western catchment to Rutherford. A northern neighbourhood of Departure Bay Eco School’s catchment, near Golden Oaks Crescent and Oakridge Drive, would be added to Ney’s, however.
Further, Randerson Ridge school’s catchment will see a lower section of Rutherford Road hill subtracted and while it is estimated to have less students in the catchment area than the school’s 415 capacity, new apartments and condominums nearby and future development at the current Green Thumb Garden Centre site were not taken into consideration.
Speaking at the May 8 meeting, Mark Walsh, district secretary-treasurer, said there would be some “inequities” with students in different catchments. He said the students in the Rutherford and revised Ney catchment areas will be required to attend their catchment schools as of September 2025, unless they are starting Grade 7 that year.
Rutherford has space for 340 students, with no portable usage.
“We built the current catchment to exceed that number, but knowing that it’s a mature area and it’s not going to see a ton of development in the next 10 years and so the population is actually set to decline a little bit,” Walsh said. “But assuming our capture rate is high for the in-catchment students, then we are in good stead to have it vibrant.”
The Ministry of Education has supported upgrades at Rutherford school to the tune of $898,000, the report stated, and annual facilities grant money will spent on enhancements for accessibility, education and aesthetics.
The board has also allocated $600,000 for the 2024-25 fiscal year to aid in buying equipment to prepare for the school’s opening.
Final approval is anticipated to take place this fall, following consultation. Plans for engagement are being formulated, and Gillian Robinson, school district spokesperson, said a letter will go out to families with children in schools that are impacted and there will be in-person opportunities for feedback.
Trustee Tania Brzovic, who was part of the board that closed the school in 2018, expressed that she was glad things have come full circle.
“This is a big change,” she said. “I know there are a lot of people who wanted Rutherford re-opened for a while and were, of course, devastated when it closed and I think it’s important that we maintain our spirit of public engagement and making sure that … we are including the community all the way and finding out any questions and concerns they have, so we can do our best and address them.”
The business committee and the board both unanimously passed the recommendation.
For more information, go to www.sd68.bc.ca/board/rutherford-planning.
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