Thanks for the well-written article about the priority changes being considered by the Victoria School Board (SD61). It’s an important but difficult issue, hence the school district’s survey to get people’s responses.
The question boils down to this: should an out-of-catchment sibling take priority over an in-catchment first (or only) child, or should it be the other way around? That is, is it more important that siblings be in the same (out-of-catchment) school or that children be able to attend their in-catchment school?
Since for many parents, the decision of where in the city to live is strongly influenced by the catchment schools applicable to that residence (for reasons including perceived quality of school, range of programs, proximity to home, etc.), the ability to attend one’s catchment school should take precedence. That is, kids whose parents have ‘bought into’ a neighbourhood by living there should not be bumped by out-of-catchment kids.
Allan Rempel
Saanich