Glenmore Narrow Schools
Photo: SD23
With the new West Kelowna High School now funded, Central Okanagan School District has a new item at the top of its wish list.
All BC summer school districts submit their applications for funding for capital projects to the provincial government. Projects can spend years and years on wish lists before they are funded.
Next week, the school councilors on the committee will consider the 2023/24 five-year capital plan.
A new middle / high school in Glenmore is the number one priority of the new school program. That would cost about $ 85 million. Glenmore’s school system has been operating well above its capacity for years, pressured by the neighborhood’s explosive growth.
Rutland Middle School remains the number one priority for the school replacement program. The school district wants to build a new high school on the property of Quigley Elementary at a cost of approximately $ 50 million. The school district has been seeking funding for the project for about 15 years.
The school district’s desire to acquire land for a new school in the University neighborhood is the number one priority of the acquisition program and the number two priority for the new school program.
The school district suggests land acquisition could cost more than $ 20 million, while building a new middle school would cost $ 60 million.
Other proposed projects include the construction of a new primary school in Wilden, with an estimated value of $ 40 million. The province approved land acquisition for the Union Road site last year.
School additions to several other schools are also being proposed to replace portable classrooms.
The provincial government says it funds capital projects based on priority. In recent years, BC has been forced to spend large sums on seismic improvements on aging schools in the Lower Mainland.