Students, teachers and staff at a Coquitlam middle school will soon see four portables replaced with 10 permanent classrooms.
Today, Nov. 15, Rachna Singh, B.C.'s Minister for Education and Child Care, announced $15 million in provincial government funding to build a two-storey pre-fab building at the southwestern end of Scott Creek Middle.
Work is now underway with School District 43 (SD43) to get the structure up by the start of the next academic year to accommodate demand.
Principal Lisa Rinke told the Tri-City News the Lansdowne Drive school, which has 675 students, is at capacity as the City Centre neighbourhood continues to grow, and the 10 new classrooms will add some 250 more student spaces.
Singh, who started by acknowledging the arson that wiped out Hazel Trembath Elementary last month and thanking the SD43 trustees and administrators at the news conference, said the government is picking up the full school expansion bill.
The addition will be a custom-made, she said, using sustainable and energy-efficient designs that align with CleanBC targets.
The pre-fab will be similar to the model at Dr. Charles Best Secondary, said SD43 board chair Michael Thomas, a Port Coquitlam school trustee.
"We know this model works and we are confident this addition at Scott Creek Middle will serve students well for years to come," he stated in a news release.
SD43 wishlist
The 10 extra classrooms at Scott Creek Middle have been on the SD43 priority list for years.
In 2021, the capital project was estimated to cost $14.6 million.
And, last year, SD43 gave up $10 million allocated for the new Scott Creek Middle classrooms to ensure a joint middle/secondary school on Burke Mountain was built first; that money came from the sale of Lincoln Elementary School in PoCo.
