On behalf of the City of Surrey and Members of Council, Mayor Linda Hepner welcomes today's announcement by Premier John Horgan to significantly invest in Surrey's schools.
"With the demands that have been placed on our school system, these projects will help address the overcrowded classrooms and the proliferation of portables in Surrey," said Mayor Linda Hepner. "With the tremendous growth that Surrey has been experiencing, the infrastructure of our school system has been sorely left behind. I want to commend Premier Horgan and Minister of Education, Rob Fleming for not only recognizing the need in Surrey but acting on addressing the issues of portables and overcrowding that have plagued Surrey schools for far too long."
"With this first step along with the Premier's commitment to eliminate portables in Surrey within four years, I look forward to working with the Provincial Government in helping them reach that goal. City Council is eager to help the Province and the School District in prioritizing and expediting projects that will invest in Surrey's schools and our students."
Today's announcement has the Province funding a new, $24-million elementary school in Grandview Heights, along with a 300-seat, $9-million addition at Pacific Heights Elementary school. The new Grandview Heights elementary school, and the addition to Pacific Heights, will help to ease current and future enrolment pressures on nearby elementary schools, including Sunnyside, Rosemary Heights and Morgan.
These projects are in addition to the thousands of new seats currently being created for students in Surrey schools. Work continues on the new 1,500-seat Salish Secondary, a new 1,500-seat Grandview Heights secondary, one new 605-seat Clayton-area elementary and one new 655-seat Clayton-area elementary. Additions to Sullivan Heights, Panorama Park and Woodward Hill elementary schools also have been announced and will create up to a combined 600 new student seats.
