Walnut Park Elementary School could soon be replaced.
At Tuesday’s Bulkley Valley School District 54 meeting, it was discussed that a new school is needed to replace the 50-year-old building.
“Part of the issue with Walnut is that it’s built [on] not really stable ground, so there’s sinking issues … well the only way to fix that is really, logically is to put a new school there,” said secretary treasurer Dave Margerm.
The proposed new school would have capacity for 440 students, which is 25 more student spots than at the current school.
If approved, the new school would sit on Walnut Park Elementary’s existing property, where the soccer field is and the old building would be demolished and turned into a soccer field.
In recent years the district has closed two schools; Quick Elementary in the Telkwa area and Lake Kathlyn Elementary in Smithers due to lack of enrollment.
With student enrollment declining and a new school with an increase of student capacity propose, Margerm said it’s about projecting numbers in the years ahead.
“We also look at what we project 10 years out and the sort of declining is supposed to come to a plateau now and hopefully over time will start to increase slowly, so we would built a school to allow for that capacity.”
The district is waiting on the ministry’s capital department to sign off on the proposal and the district’s treasury department will approve any amendments to receive the funding.
The cost for the new school is expected to be $25-26 Million with funding coming from the government and an undetermined amount from the school district.
“It’s been a long process, I think we’re five versions down with this application,” Margerm stated.
