Amid surging enrollment, Surrey looks at taller schools

As B.C. school districts face enrollment pressures and a scarcity of available land, newly announced school additions in Surrey could herald the way of the future.

Earlier this month the province announced an expansion to Fleetwood Park Secondary, designed to hold an additional 800 students.

The project will also be four storeys tall, suggesting a growing interest in building upward rather than outward, in a region with surging land costs.

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The renovation follows the recently-opened four-storey addition to Surrey’s Sullivan Heights Secondary.

Fleetwood Park is one of six Surrey schools moving to an extended day schedule this fall in an effort to manage crowding issues. The two-storey school is home to numerous portables.

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“The land prices are so expensive, and by the time those are finalized, usually there are so many bids on that,” Education Minister Rachna Singh said.

“So it’s a great opportunity (to better utilize existing properties) because school districts are the owners and operators of the school properties.”

Surrey city councillor Linda Annis said anything the province can do to cut back on land use could help speed construction in a district with a surging student population.

Annual enrollment in Surrey, already B.C.’s most populous school district, has tripled in recent years from 800 to 2,500 new students.

“Land costs are driving some of the major costs of getting schools built, so if we can go up as opposed to out, it is a terrific idea,” Annis said.

“We’ve got to be thinking out of the box.”

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Annis, however, thinks the province and city should take the concept further and add schools into high-rise towers planned along the new Surrey-Langely SkyTrain line.

“What a convenience for parents as they’re going off to work each day that they can just drop their students off at school,” she said. “Have a school, have a daycare, it’s a great amenity.”

Surrey residents Global News spoke with on Monday seemed keen on the concept of building taller schools.

“If you’ve got the land, go up. I went to a school that had a couple of floors on it, big wide staircases,” said Harvey Miller.

“I think building up is a great idea, versus having portables. That way the kids get to stay in the same building, they get to socialize,” added Karina Sewak.

While many secondary schools in Surrey are two storeys tall, the idea of building taller is not new.

Many high schools in Vancouver, particularly older structures such as Vancouver Technical Secondary and Point Grey Secondary, are multi-storey buildings.

The Fleetwood Park expansion is scheduled for completion in 2029.