Dear editor:
As a concerned citizen and taxpayer, I read with great interest your recent article highlighting the approved York Road development and the important discussion it sparked regarding school capacity in our growing community (May 8, “Council approves York Road residential units, sparking school board discussion.“)
St. Davids is a beautiful and rapidly expanding area of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Families are continuing to move here, drawn by its charm and vibrancy.
However, this growth and lack of planning from the District School Board of Niagara has placed an unsustainable strain on St. Davids Public School. With enrolment now far beyond its intended capacity, students are learning in overcrowded conditions and portable classrooms meant only as short-term solutions.
Simply put, the school can no longer meet the needs of the community as it stands today, let alone accommodate the growth this new development represents.
What is especially troubling is that just minutes down the road sits Crossroads Public School — a modern, well-equipped facility that is currently underutilized with empty classrooms and experiencing a diminishing student population.
In a time when school board resources are stretched and taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely, it’s hard to understand why we continue to add portables to an already overcrowded school when we have a viable, long-term solution nearby.
This is a moment for decisive action. The District School Board of Niagara must act and re-examine school boundaries in Niagara-on-the-Lake with an eye toward sustainability and fairness.
We owe it to the students and teaching staff to ensure their learning environments are safe, appropriate, and enriching — and we owe it to taxpayers to ensure public resources are used efficiently and responsibly.
It’s time for meaningful steps to be taken to balance enrolment and plan wisely for the future. The continued growth of St. Davids requires smart, collaborative planning, and our schools should reflect that.
Andrew Stewart
St. Davids
