With land in hand plans are underway to build an elementary school in the Royal Bay neighbourhood.
The province granted $8.3 million to purchase property between Latoria Boulevard and Metchosin Road while the Sooke School District funds the additional $1.2 million.
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| The map below gives a sense of the location, with the upper blue area showing the current Royal Bay Secondary School and the lower blue area being the new elementary school site. (Courtesy City of Colwood) |
“This is wonderful news for our fast-growing, family-friendly, seaside community in Colwood,” said Mayor Rob Martin. “It’s important for the growing number of families in Royal Bay and will relieve pressure in our other elementary schools which are bursting at the seams. School District 62 is doing a fantastic job of understanding the pace of new development in combination with enrollment, to be proactive in planning to meet the needs of students and families here in Colwood and throughout the West Shore.”
Now the Ministry of Education will work with the Sooke School District to develop a plan for building a new elementary school on the site.
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“This is an exciting time for families in Royal Bay and all of the West Shore, as we continue building and expanding the schools our community needs,” said Mitzi Dean, MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin.
The latest investment is among eight capital projects that the province has funded in the past three years in the Sooke district, including a $29.9-million addition that opened at Royal Bay Secondary to start the school year; a new elementary school, a new middle school and five site purchases.
“We’re excited about the prospect of one day, in the near future, building a school for the hundreds of families that call Royal Bay home,” said Ravi Parmar, board chair, Sooke School District Board of Education.
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