Overcrowded classrooms on the agenda for Edmonton public schools

Edmonton public schools are working on a plan to deal with overcrowding in classrooms while new schools are being built. CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg reports

The Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) is taking a look at how it will manage overcrowded classrooms while it waits for new schools.

For now, that is looking like more portables and using lotteries in high-demand neighbourhoods.

Joey Moss School in the Keswick neighbourhood is the 11th school in the city to implement a lottery system for prospective students based on interest for the 2026-2027 school year.

“We are at 90 per cent utilization right now,” said EPSB board chair Saadiq Sumar. “We’re projecting to increase because we’re projecting more enrollment, more families are continuing to choose Edmonton public as a school division of choice.”

EPSB is also looking to the future with its 10-year growth plan that targets each of the city’s school districts. The plan will see older, less busy schools get needed maintenance so they can continue to be used to help with the demand in higher-density areas.

But parents said that more action needs to be done sooner.

“(My son) said a lot of the times, the first couple weeks of school they’re not learning anything, they’re literally just trying to find enough desks for the children to sit in,” said parent Carole Chamberlain.

The school board says it wants to create as much stability for families as it can and won’t turn kids away, but cautions the solution might not always be the most convenient one.

At Tuesday’s meeting, school board trustees and EPSB staff said they’re looking to get the most bang for their buck from Budget 2026.

“We’re grateful for the province’s investment in new construction so we can add more spaces to the division, but that need is ever growing,” said Sumar. “The goal is always to make sure that students get to attend their neighbourhood schools, but in some cases, we’re just finding that there are more students than we can accommodate.”

Last year, teachers across the province called on the Alberta government to address class sizes as many classrooms, particularly in Edmonton and Calgary, were over capacity or well on their way.

The province announced 10 new schools in Edmonton alone, four of which belong to EPSB, with three to Edmonton Catholic and three to francophone Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord.

The 10 projects include eight new schools and two replacements and will create room for 8,400 students.