Students at Kitchener and Brentwood Park Elementary schools will soon have new additions, following capital requests by the District and funding announcements made by the Provincial Government.
The Minister of Education and Child Care was at Kitchener Elementary on December 4 to announce a school expansion. The prefabricated addition is expected to be ready for students as early as the 2024-25 school year.
Minister Rachna Singh shared that the province recognizes the increase of young families moving to Burnaby:
Our government will continue to build and improve schools in the Burnaby School District and throughout BC, and these new additions will serve students for decades to come.鈥 聽
The $22.5 million expansion will provide 15 additional classrooms and 375 new student spaces at Kitchener Elementary to help meet increasing demand in the fast-growing neighbourhood.
平特一肖图 Chair Bill Brassington spoke at the announcement. He thanked the Ministry for recognizing the need and including Burnaby in the first wave of these types of prefabricated projects.
This is a welcome and important investment. Our school district is facing rapid growth, and one of the fastest growing areas is North Burnaby. Ensuring children have appropriate and safe spaces to learn is a priority we share with the Ministry of Education and Child Care. We鈥檙e pleased to work with them on this innovative school expansion.鈥
In addition to the news for Kitchener Elementary, the Ministry of Education and Child Care also released at the end of November that Brentwood Park Elementary is getting funding. The District is receiving $39 million with $2.2 million in ChildCareBC New Spaces funding at Brentwood Park for:
- a new 165-seat expansion addition
- seismic upgrades
- creation of 37 child care spaces for children up to five years of age
- before and after school child care spaces
Brentwood Park will also have a high school-size gym. The upgrade is being funded by the City of Burnaby, as part of a partnership recognizing that schools are used by the wider community.
The expansions at both Brentwood Park and Kitchener Elementary schools are part of the Burnaby School District鈥檚 strategy set out in the new Long-Range Facilities Plan. It lays out a roadmap of the Board鈥檚 plans for buildings, including strategies to address the pressure placed on school buildings by enrolment growth, and is the overarching plan from which funding requests are determined.
Read the Burnaby School District鈥檚 Long-Range Facilities Plan here.
Learn More
Burnaby Beacon, December 11, 2023
Burnaby Now, December 4, 2023
CTV News Vancouver at 6, December 4, 2023
BC Gov News, December 4, 2023
BC Gov News, November 29, 2023
Burnaby Beacon, December 1, 2023
Burnaby Now, November 1, 2023
Burnaby Now, June 28, 2023
City and School District Determine Site for New School in Brentwood Neighbourhood
February 2023
Burnaby Now, February 23, 2023
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Posted December 2023