Saskatoon Public Schools says its official school enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is higher than they initially projected.  Board Chair Colleen MacPherson says they are seeing significant growth especially in the elementary schools.  She says while excited to see the growth, it puts increased pressure on public school resources and facilities.

In comparison to the last school year, Saskatoon Public Schools has 786 more students enrolled in Grades 1-8 for a total of 15,932. There are 1,942 kindergarten students enrolled this year, almost 100 more than last year. Of note is the prekindergarten enrollment. She says 610 students are registered which means 88 per cent of pre-kindergarten spaces are taken and that is the highest level they have seen in a number of years.

While secondary schools experienced a slight drop in enrolment from 8,784 in 2021 to 8,776 this year, their Newcomer Centre saw a record number of students and families accessing its services with 776 intakes versus 262 intakes last year.

MacPherson says the financial well-being of the school division is directly tied to annual enrolment and when they see such a significant gain, they expect the provincial government to again make a mid-year funding adjustment.

Saskatoon Public Schools is the largest school division in the province. It operates 48 elementary schools, 10 secondary schools, one associate school, and one alliance school. It serves approximately 27,000 students and employs more than 2,600 professional and support staff.