Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray closed to new variance enrolments for next school year

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Margaret “Ma” Murray Community School is reportedly at full capacity and cannot accommodate new student transfers for the upcoming school year.

School District 60 (SD 60) announced on April 15th that variance forms for Margaret “Ma” Murray will no longer be accepted for the 2025-26 school year.

SD 60 superintendent Stephen Petrucci said the reason for the variance is the facility reaching full capacity. 

“It doesn’t mean it would be that way forever, it’s just that with the attendance and the catchment area that it’s in, it’s filled up relatively quickly,” said Petrucci. 

According to SD 60, a variance form allows students to transfer to a school outside their catchment area.

Petrucci also confirmed the district can still accommodate students living in the school area. 

“We’re still able at this point to accommodate the students that live in that catchment, it’s just that we can’t add students from other areas,” said Petrucci.

The superintendent explained school space constraints often determine variances and the district can accommodate more variances when additional spaces are built. 

“In the past, before we had new schools built, we had various schools that were not able to accommodate variances, so it’s important to understand that from year to year,” said Petrucci.

“Ten years ago, our schools were quite crowded, and so it’s definitely helped to have those extra classroom spaces.” 

Petrucci also advised parents to sign their children up for kindergarden and other new registrations for the school year quickly as new registrations may be harder to accommodate. 

“As we head into September, there can be a time when a school is full, even if it’s within their catchment area, and then we accommodate them at a different school,” said Petrucci. 

The district’s attendance variance application can be found here. 

SD 60’s April 15th announcement can be viewed below: