Moncton-area schools prepare as enrolment numbers soar

New Brunswick's Anglophone East School District is experiencing unprecedented and exponential enrolment growth.

The district currently has around 19,000 students.

That's up 1,000 from last September, and the district has grown by over 2,000 students in the past two school years.

Moncton High, a school that is less than 10-years-old, already has 16 portables.

District superintendent Randy MacLEAN said they’re using every square-inch possible to accommodate all the new students.

“We're adding 17 new portables this year, we had 65 on buildings last year. It's another 17 we're adding. As we get new students we add new spaces,” said MacLEAN.

That begs the question, are there enough teachers to accommodate the influx of students?

“During July we were short about 50 teachers, right now we're short fewer than 10. We'll have teachers in classrooms on Tuesday, but we're under the same pressures that every school district in North America is under,” said MacLEAN.

The need for more staff is a big concern to the association that advocates for Anglophone teachers in the province.

In a statement to CTV News, New Brunswick Teachers Association president Peter Lagacy said the provincial government needs to come up with a strategy to better retain and recruit teachers.

“Although teachers are eager to welcome students back, they remain concerned that the critical staffing shortages continue into this year as districts are still advertising full-time teaching positions just three working days before school starts," said Lagacy.

Lagacy said 1,000 New Brunswickers stepped up in their communities last year to help their local schools stay open.

“But they weren’t professional teachers. Our province’s school-aged population continues to grow and that will create an even greater need for more teachers,” said Lagacy.

The Forest Glen School in Moncton, N.B. (CTV/Derek Haggett) As for where are all the new students are coming from, most are newcomers.

MacLean said over 700 new Canadians have registered for the school year in the district.

“At the same time we have a sizeable migration from other parts of Canada,” said MacLEAN. “We're seeing shifts, an inward migration to the Maritimes that the Maritimes hasn't seen since Confederation.”

It's not just the Anglophone East School District that's experiencing unprecedented growth.

Francophone South School District spokesperson Jean-Luc Thériault said 16,908 students were enrolled as of Monday and that number is expected to exceed 17,000 in the coming days and weeks.

“It represents an increase of 803 students in our schools and registrations continue daily,” said Thériault in an email.

Close to 2,600 newcomer students are enrolled in Francophone South schools, 616 more than last year's number.

“The number of students attending schools in Moncton has increased by around 10 per cent since last year,” said Thériault.

With the increase of the student population, the largest Francophone district in the province is adding a total of seven new portables at schools in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton.

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