Students at Arthur Stevenson Elementary School in Kamloops. (Photo via SD73)

The final numbers are in for the 2023/24 school year and the Kamloops-Thompson School District has – not unexpectedly – seen its enrollment numbers climb, once again.

This year, there are 16,205 students enrolled in SD73 – a jump of 319 students or the equivalent of a medium-sized elementary school when compared to the 2022/23 school year.

Superintendent Rhonda Nixon says the only slight downturn they’re seeing is Kindergarten numbers this year.

“Everywhere else we increased, so we have 40 more grade 1 to 3 students, we have over 150 more grade 4 to 7 students, we are a little bit down in grades 8 to 10 and up in grades 11 and 12,” Nixon said.

Nixon suggests more portables are going to be the interim fix until Pineview Valley Elementary comes online in the fall of 2026, but she says even that won’t fix their issues around capacity.

“All of those kids, they grow fast, and any parent knows, they go to secondary quicker than they would like to see because it’s like kids grow up quickly so, we need another school in Aberdeen,” Nixon said.

Nixon says one of the ways they’re trying to accommodate the extra students is a re-alignment of the schools on the North Shore next school year.

“It will ease space pressures and enable the K to 7’s to stay together in their elementary schools, and Brock will become an 8 to 12 school as will NorKam, which is NorKam senior secondary now.”

While SD73 wants a high school in Aberdeen, the next area that has been earmarked for a potential school is Bachelor Heights on the North Shore, with the district given support from the province last year to start the planning process.