The new boundaries for Poplar Ridge and Penhold schools scheduled to take effect in 2014 have been set.
“We've been looking at the boundaries for the last 10 months,” said Ray Hoppins, the associate superintendent of system services for Chinook's Edge School Division.
Some of the biggest changes in the system will see CESD students no longer attend River Glen School in Red Deer after 2014. Hoppins said the large majority of students and staff will be heading to Penhold where the new high school is supposed to open in 2014.
Hoppins said one of the other big changes will be that students attending at Poplar Ridge will be heading into Sylvan Lake after Grade 6 instead of Red Deer.
The new high school in Penhold will have a capacity of 500 students.
Hoppins said between public meetings, an online survey and phone calls, more than 300 contacts were made with families in the areas affected.
“This will be the desired outcome for a large majority,” Hoppins said of the new boundaries. He said most of the feedback has been positive with a few requests from families who now live on the other side of a border for their students to be able to finish up at the school they already attend.
About 700 Chinook's Edge students are in the areas involved with the new boundaries.
The Chinook's Edge school board signed on to the joint use agreement with the Penhold Regional Multiplex at its meeting on June 13, said Allan Tarnoczi, associate superintendent for corporate services.
“It's going to be the school use of the multiplex and the community use of the school,” Tarnoczi said.
Penhold Mayor Dennis Cooper confirmed the joint use agreement was on the June 25 agenda for council, after the Province went to press. However, he said council had discussed the agreement at a committee of the whole meeting. He didn't predict any problems with it passing.
“We don't see any changes in it,” he said.
