Despite the recent buzz on social media, the Sooke School District will not be opening new schools on the West Shore come September.
That rumour probably got started with the circulation of SD62’s capital plan summary that highlights the need for the Royal Bay secondary expansion, a new middle school in the Langford/Colwood area, two new elementary schools in north and south Langford, and the replacement of Millstream elementary.
Some of the confusion may have started with the dates beside these projects, which are all listed as 2017-2018.
But these new and replacement schools will not be opening their doors to students this September, in fact, it’ll probably take a few years. While there is some pre-emptive work underway, the school district has their hands tied waiting on provincial government approvals and funding – something that’s been delayed with what has seemed like a never-ending election.
There’s no arguing that the need is there now, a number of West Shore classrooms are already stretched to the max and with class size limitations coming for the fall, paired with the exponential growth seen on the West Shore, it’s no surprise the district has had to come up with some creative ways to accommodate more students and staff.
The district will be looking at converting 32 new spaces into “classrooms” with about 22 of those coming as portables and 10 other in-school rooms (such as computer labs) being converted. Catchment areas are also being re-examined to see if underutilized schools can accommodate more students.
But it all seems like a temporary fix just to get by and we don’t blame the district for that. We know they’re doing the best they can, stretching limited funds to do as much as possible for West Shore children.
It’s time the province took a hard look at the West Shore – the fastest growing area in the region and one of the fastest in the province – and hand over the funds needed to make sure no child goes without a quality education.
The district knew Royal Bay secondary would be too small – and it was over capacity the day it opened – but the province wouldn’t provide the funds needed to build it right the first time. We don’t want to see that happen again. It’s time the province starts investing in the West Shore the same way residents have.
