Families at five Burnaby high schools have received a letter informing them their child’s schedule could change next school year.

The Burnaby School District says it is considering staggering start and finish times to create more capacity at the following schools:

– Alpha Secondary

– Secondary Moscrop

– Burnaby Central Secondary

– Burnaby North Secondary

– Burnaby Mountain Secondary

“The district has identified that action will need to be taken to address this challenge related to the immediate need for space for current students and expected additional students,” the letter sent to parents read.

Classes are currently scheduled in four blocks. The school division is considering adding a fifth block.

This change would not increase the number of classes for students, but rather would change their schedules based on the class in which they enroll. The district says staggered start times should help create more capacity within the school.

Harinder Parmar, president of Burnaby DPAC, said she wishes parents had been consulted before the letter was sent.

“As a parent, you juggle so much and now you have kids who start and stop at different times. It just adds more chaos and more stress,” said Parmar, a mother of three.

She says many families rely on their older children to walk home with their younger siblings, which won’t be possible if their classes end at different times.

“The city announced that this area would welcome thousands of new people. We need to make sure that we plan for this and that we have schools for all the families that are coming, because at this point we don’t have enough,” she said.

This change would follow in the footsteps of some schools in the Surrey School District, where five schools were moved to extended days earlier in September.

Many Surrey schools have laptops to track the growing number of students, a tactic the Burnaby school district is also now using.

The Burnaby School District declined an interview with CTV News, saying it has not yet made a final decision on the matter, but understands the changes families and teachers are facing.