Two new additions are coming to schools in the West Shore to add more student spaces as soon as the next school year.
The Ministry of Education and Child Care is adding 190 seats in eight new classrooms to each of Ruth King Elementary and David Cameron Elementary.
The $24 million project is expected to be ready for students in fall 2024.
“We are expanding schools to meet the demands of high student enrolment faster,” said Rachna Singh, minister of education and child care.
“With record population growth, our government will continue to build and improve schools in the Sooke School District and throughout B.C. as more communities welcome students to their classrooms.”
The additions at Ruth King Elementary and David Cameron Elementary will be custom-made prefabricated additions that aim to get students into classrooms quickly.
The sustainable and energy-efficient designs align with the Province’s CleanBC targets and meet B.C.’s enhanced energy requirements.
According to Ravi Parmar, MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca, the West Shore is becoming a top choice for families, with schools expanding rapidly.
“The investment to expand Ruth King and David Cameron ensures modern and secure learning environments for students and also supports the community’s growth, benefiting teachers, students and families,” he said.
Keeping the population growth in mind, the province has approved approximately $260 million to create 2,660 new student seats across the school district during the past five years.
This includes the new Pexsisen Elementary, Centre Mountain Lellum Middle school, an addition to Royal Bay Secondary and SĆIȺNEW̱ SṮEȽIṮḴEȽ Elementary, which is the new elementary school under construction.
READ MORE: New Langford elementary school, ‘imagined as a tree house’, gets gifted name
“Without this innovative investment from the province, the district would have faced financial challenges to create enough space to accommodate our growing student population in Colwood and Langford,” said Amanda Dowhy, chair of Sooke School District.
“The expansion will deliver much-needed seats and allows us to focus our resources on supporting the needs of our students.”
Since September 2017, the province has provided more than $4 billion for new and improved schools, as well as land purchases for future schools, throughout the B.C. This has resulted in 25,000 new student spaces and 35,000 seismically safer seats at B.C. schools.
Budget 2023 includes $3.4 billion for school capital projects over the next three years, such as new and expanded schools, seismic upgrades and replacements and land purchases for future schools.
Mackenzie Read
