Preliminary Discussions: Facilities and Enrolment Review

Preliminary discussions are now completed.

From January 2025 to early January 2026, staff at the Chilliwack School District had preliminary discussions with specific schools.

The focus of these discussions was to:

• Share potential solutions for balancing enrolment at middle and secondary schools.
• Explore scenarios for enrolment at the new elementary school currently under construction in Rosedale.

Engagement

• 36 meetings, community discussions, and presentations with school staff, students, families, Parent Advisory Councils, and Board partners.
• Approximately 583 participants from school communities.
• 2.2k visits to this Let's Talk page.
• 685 downloads of Q+A documents.

What We Heard

The updated What We Heard Report provides a record of what we heard from school communities over the past year.

Conversations showed that people across our school communities have many different views, but there is a clear desire for careful changes that put student well-being first. We also heard that students, staff, and families feel strong pride and connection to their schools, and value programs like French Immersion and Integrated Arts and Technology. Many community members want to better understand the district-wide picture as decisions are made about balancing school enrolment

Community feedback helps us to understand and respond to the perspectives of staff, students, families, and community members.

Context

Between 2016 and 2021, Chilliwack was the second fastest growing municipality in Canada. By 2035, the city’s population is expected to reach 132,000. This growth, combined with limited available land, is putting pressure on Chilliwack schools. One third of schools in the Chilliwack School District are overcapacity, particularly at middle and secondary schools.

In 2023, the provincial government announced that it would build a new elementary school in Rosedale with space for 500 K-5 students. The school will open in September 2027. The new school prompted the Chilliwack School District to begin exploring how to balance enrolment and capacity at our schools.