One of the Tri-Cities’ oldest schools — at 61 years old — will be replaced.
Yesterday, Aug. 1, the provincial government announced there will be a new Montgomery Middle School in Coquitlam in four years.
And the $86.5-million bill to build the new school at 1900 Edgewood St. will include environmental designs to lower greenhouse gases and a new neighbourhood learning centre with Indigenous programming.
Constructed in 1963, Montgomery Middle currently serves about 440 students in grades 6 to 8 in neighbourhood learning, Montessori and French immersion streams; the principal is Sarah Husband.
The new school, scheduled to be complete in 2028, will fit 600 students.
Two years ago, the board of education for School District 43 (SD43) identified Montgomery Middle as being a "high seismic risk" and recommended it be replaced as part of its $1-billion capital plan over five years.
In 2022, the estimated cost was $76.6 million.
“The seismic replacement of Montgomery Middle School will provide safe, modern classroom spaces for students, furthering the School District 43 board of education’s goal to provide world-class learning facilities for the communities we serve,” said board chair Michael Thomas, a Port Coquitlam trustee, in a news release.
“We are also pleased that the building will be built with environmental considerations at the forefront.”
In the last seven years, the provincial government has created 2,600 new student seats and 1,375 seismically safe seats in SD43, according to the news release, including:
- 430 new student spaces at Coast Salish Elementary
- 250 additional seats at Scott Creek Middle (via a prefab building)
- 775 seismically safe seats at Irvine and Moody elementaries
This year’s provincial budget includes $3.75 billion for school capital projects over the next three years.
