The New Westminster school district is asking the province for $30 million to help it buy land for a new elementary school.
The site acquisition is the number 1 priority on the district’s five-year capital plan, which the school board’s operations committee agreed to at its June 9 meeting.
In total, the capital plan lays out a request for $46.5 million for major and minor capital projects in the district over the next five years. Though secretary-treasurer Bettina Ketcham noted the capital plan is “a pretty substantial ask,” the number has been reduced significantly since last year – when the district submitted a $250-million plan to the province.
As it did in last year’s plan, the district is looking to acquire land for a 450-student elementary school in the Fraser River Middle zone, which includes the downtown core.
Ketcham noted the district is in significant need of new elementary school space. As it stands now, the district would be at a projected shortfall of 1,048 seats across the board by 2025, 1,340 by 2030 and 1,921 by 2041. The vast majority of those seats, she said, will be needed in that Fraser River zone.
“As you know, the Fraser River Middle zone continues to be a hot area where families are continually moving into,” Ketcham told trustees.
Last year, the district asked for $62 million to acquire a school site. This year’s ask was halved after dealings with the Ministry of Education over the past year, Ketcham said.
“We do know they are supportive of an urban-type school, where they are encouraging districts to build up rather than out,” she said.
That means the district can look for a smaller property for any future school. It’s also working with the city to try to identify parcels of land that might be suitable, particularly land adjacent to city parks so the school district can make use of existing green space instead of having to buy land for school fields.
Another major change from last year’s capital plan revolves around Fraser River Middle School. Last year, the district submitted a request for $90 million to buy land for a new middle school – plus the estimated $36 million for the actual school building.
Instead, Ketcham noted, the district is now asking for a $9.5-million expansion to the existing Fraser River Middle School, which was built in 2016 with future expansions in mind. The 200-student, eight-classroom expansion would be built above the existing parking spaces and would be a two-storey addition with four classes per floor.
She assured trustees the middle school remains a “top-of-mind priority,” as it was last year.
“The strategy is similar, but we’re pivoting in direction to allow for a more palatable request to be made to the Ministry of Education,” she said.
Should the school enrolment go beyond the capacity of the eight-classroom expansion, Ketcham said, there are portables on site that could be used to accommodate the overflow.
“Obviously estimates and enrolments ebb and flow, but to our knowledge the expansion should be able to accommodate students that will be enrolled in that school for quite a long time frame,” she said.
Ketcham acknowledged that there are also some space pressures at Glenbrook Middle School but said, right now, the district needs to focus on the fact that the Fraser River Middle zone has the highest growth.
The district’s long-range plan also has the potential for a 200-student annex at the Hume Park school site, thanks to a Fader Street property the district bought in 2018.
The district has also laid out its minor capital requests for the year, falling under three programs: school enhancement, carbon-neutral capital (designed to help the district meet its climate-change goals) and playground equipment. (See list below for details.)
A recommendation to submit the capital plan to the B.C. Ministry of Education now goes to the full school board, which next meets via Webex on June 23.
WHAT PROJECTS ARE IN THE PLANS?
School enhancement plan priorities
The school district is asking for funding for four projects, in priority order: $1.15 million for exterior work (windows and cladding) at Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School; $950,000 for HVAC and $375,000 for roofing at Queensborough Middle School; $280,000 for an air source heat pump system for Lord Kelvin Elementary School; and $425,000 for new air handlers at Queen Elizabeth Elementary.
Carbon-neutral capital plan priorities
Under the carbon-neutral capital plan, the district is eyeing four sites where it can change to an air source heat pump system to help reduce its carbon footprint: Queensborough and Glenbrook middle schools, and Herbert Spencer and F.W. Howay elementary schools (in that priority order).
Fifth on the priority list is upgrading Queen Elizabeth Elementary School lighting to LED.
Playground equipment priorities
The school district is requesting funding for four playground refreshes. All playgrounds are funded at $125,000 and cover universally accessible equipment. Topping the list is Richard McBride Elementary School, which has lost the playground on its top campus due to new school construction, followed by Herbert Spencer, Lord Tweedsmuir and Lord Kelvin, all of which require replacement due to age.
