The provincial government announced a new $24 million elementary school in the Grandview Heights area and a $9-million addition to Pacific Heights Elementary Thursday morning.
Premier John Horgan and provincial Minister of Education Rob Fleming were scheduled to make the announcement at Pacific Heights Elementary, but were grounded in Victoria due to fog.
The Grandview school, slated for 16650 23 Ave., is to have a capacity for 655 students. It is scheduled to open in time for the 2020-2021 school year.
The Pacific Heights Elementary expansion will see an addition of 12 classrooms, increasing capacity by 300 students. Construction is expected to begin in May 2018, and the new classrooms are to be ready for the 2019 school year.
“Both projects will be fully funded by the Government of British Columbia,” a news release from the provincial government said.
The release notes that enrolment forecasts for the Grandview Heights area shows a shortfall of more than 2,200 elementary seats in the next 10 years.
A new 600-space Clayton North Elementary is expected to open in the fall of 2019, and a new 1,500-capacity Grandview Heights Secondary in the fall of 2020.
“Kids deserve a positive, healthy learning environment so they can have the opportunity to thrive in their education and succeed in life,” Horgan said in the release. “We’re investing in our kids and working hard to build the schools and additional spaces that are desperately needed in growing communities around the province.”
