The Portables Are Coming!

In September there was an out crying from the parents and staff of East Lake School regarding the overcrowding crisis that happened almost as soon as the brand new school opened its doors. Rocky View Schools jumped into action and submitted an emergency request for the approval of sixteen portables to help the jam packed school.
On October 8th, the approval came down from the Province that would allow eight portables to be allocated to the East Lake School. The good news continues in that as East Lake is a P3 school, the Province is continuing to study that emergency request so that consideration will be looked at for the remaining eight portables from the initial request.
With the approval now granted, the process is now in motion to get the portables to the school. Drawings finalized, permits granted, portables built and the site prepared. “There is a lot to be done before the portables can arrive at East Lake School and with winter close at hand, we are looking at the spring before the portables get to the school. “, says Rocky View Schools Trustee Bev LaPeare. “These eight portables will cover the shortfall of space for the 2014/2015 school year. We are very lucky that the Province is still looking at our emergency request and are considering the remaining eight that we requested. Should those final eight be approved as well, that would cover the expected growth for the 2015/2016 school year.”
LaPeare also went on to explain, “I think there is a misconception as to the process of obtaining portables. There are forty built portables sitting in Crossfield that I’m sure cause’s people to wonder why they are not just being picked up and taken to schools in need of space, like East Lake School. I can promise you that those forty built portables are already allocated for the schools that would have submitted their own requests and then obtained approval. It is likely that the portables are still there because the site is not yet ready for them to be delivered. These things do take time, but we are very lucky that the approval for these initial eight portables did come so quickly.”
There is a saying that all good things come to those that wait and for the students and staff of East Lake School, it appears all the waiting will finally pay off.