The Central Okanagan School District (SD 23) has launched the community consultation process to revise its Long Term Facilities Plan.
The plan was last updated in 2012, but the goal has been always the same: to guide the school district’s future decisions for the next decade and beyond.
The facilities plan also provides critical context for discussions with the Ministry of Education regarding capital funding requests and to provide a consistent organized approach to capital priorities.
“Without such a plan, the district would be in jeopardy of not being able to justify the requests it submits as part of the regular Five-Year Capital Plan process,” SD 23 said in a statement.
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The school district is now in the process of updating the Long Term Facilities Plan as the region has experienced significant growth. A public consultation process will be conducted to develop a plan that will ensure school buildings reflect the future of K-12 educational needs in the Central Okanagan.
There are also two emergent issues that the district will consult the community on:
- Overcapacity issues at École Kelowna Secondary School: the school has seen a six per cent increase over the last three years, with a forecasted increase of two per cent next school year and 10 per cent in the next three years. SD 23 has requested a new high school, but stated this is not a solutifon for the capacity issue as a new building will take three to four years to complete.
- Investigation of French Immersion Program at the new H.S. Grenda Middle School: the school is set to open for the 2021-22 school year and will operate as a grade 6 and 7 program. The Lake Country community has expressed interest in the possibility of offering French Immersion for the middle school.
The community will have multiple opportunities to get involved in the process. The district has said it wants to hear from all interested parties and has created three surveys to collect feedback.
To provide feedback for school district’s overall plan, visit this link. To provide feedback on the Kelowna Secondary School plan, visit this link. To provide feedback on French Immersion plans for HS Grenda Middle School, visit this link.
The surveys are now open and will accept answers until Oct. 21.
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