Charter school hopefuls face long waiting lists

Parents hoping to get their child into one of Calgary's six charter schools are in for a wait.

There are more than 8,000 children waiting to get into one of those specialized schools, Foundations for the Future Charter Academy.

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Al Del Degan's seven-year-old stepdaughter Arabella has already been on the list for a year. His two sons are already enrolled at the school.

"She's number two on the list. Like, number two! So we had pretty much made plans that she was going to be going with the boys to her new school," he said.

"And then we find out just a few weeks ago that there's no funding and there's no room."

Judy Gray, the co-ordinator of school development at Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, said despite the demand, theres no room to grow.

"What we understand now is that Calgary is undergoing a bit of a population boom and the large public boards are projecting no available facilities for the next 10 years."

"That significantly puts a cramp in terms of this notion of parental choice in educating your kids."

Del Degan said he'll keep his stepdaughter on the wait list.

"And then we just try again next year, hoping that somebody moves away."