It’s the Royal City’s oldest operating school and yet, it’s unknown when the Ministry of Education will provide funding for a new Richard McBride Elementary School.
Richard McBride Elementary School was built in 1929 after a fire destroyed the original building earlier that same year. The 87-year-old classroom blocks and gymnasium were deemed high risk of structural failure during an earthquake. With seismic upgrades underway at F.W. Howay and a replacement for New Westminster Secondary School in the works, the Richard McBride project is now the district’s number 1 priority in its capital plan.
“We have asked for a replacement,” said Pat Duncan, superintendent for the New Westminster school district in an interview last month. “We’ve attempted to create a case to demonstrate (the need for) a replacement but that’s really way out of our hands, it’s really all up to the ministry.”
Initially, the district felt the best way to proceed was with an upgrade to the aging school estimated to cost about $18 million, but after further review by district staff it was decided a replacement would be more cost efficient.
“We believe the cost to do a seismic upgrade is so close in costs that why not just give us a brand new school,” Duncan said, adding the district would build a new McBride on the existing site, so no new land would be needed.
Richard McBride is currently one of 42 seismic projects across the province under review by the Ministry of Education. The project was forwarded to the ministry earlier this fall along with New Westminster’s entire five-year capital plan.
According to the Ministry of Education, it is working with the school district to “prioritize and plan capital investments,” and the McBride project is being reviewed along with the district’s entire five-year capital plan.
TheRecord asked when parents could expect a funding announcement regarding the McBride project.
“Once the ministry’s budget is approved next spring, we will notify school districts about which priority projects have funding and what the next steps are,” read a statement from the education ministry.
