The British Columbia government is facing pressure to fast track new schools in Surrey, amid surging enrollment and persistent capacity issues.
In its recent capital plan submission, the Surrey School District told the province it needs nine new schools and 16 additions to meet its needs.
With more than 70,000 students, Surrey is the province’s largest and fastest-growing school district.
District spokesperson Ritinder Matthew told Global News the district has typically added about 1,000 new students per year, but that this year that number more than doubled to 2,200.
“This does put an impact on our resources. A number of our schools are over capacity. We’re also hiring staff,” she said.
“We’re seeing growth in actually all of our zones … One of the key drivers for our growth is immigration, but also families moving here from other parts of B.C. and other parts of Canada.”
Karen Tan, who has two children enrolled in Fleetwood-area schools told Global News she’s concerned about the state of overcrowding and the slow pace of new builds in the district.
Tan pointed to the NDP government’s stalled pledge to eliminate portables at Surrey schools as emblematic of the issue.
“That has not happened. And we knew as parents that’s not likely. We’re happy they’ve been addressing it the last few years, but it’s not quick enough,” she said.
“As a taxpayer I want our students to learn in an environment where they are treated the same as any other student in any other school district.”
Tan said forcing kids to trek through snow and rain to their portables contributed to poor health, and added she was worried about air quality and ventilation in the structures amid COVID-19.
She added that the rapid pace of development in Fleetwood, with condos and townhomes springing up to take advantage of the planned SkyTrain extension, has not been factored into enrolment projections.
“The school, before COVID, was thinking of a two-bell schedule. That means students will come to school in shifts; they can’t come to school with siblings at the same time. Imagine that for parents. It means drop-off, pick-up is a full-time job,” she said.
“The province is passing the buck: development is a city problem. City is saying school is a provincial problem. Really, I want all the governments, all the levels to come together and work together.”
In a statement, B.C. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the province was working to address the growth in Surrey.
“In just under five years, our government has invested close to half a billion dollars in Surrey schools, which will create over 10,000 student seats in Surrey alone by 2025,” she said.
“We know there is more work to be done and that’s why we continue to make record investments — with $3.1 billion budgeted over the next three years for new and expanded schools, seismic upgrades, maintenance, playgrounds, and property purchases for future schools.”
The ministry says it has funded $475 million in Surrey over the last five years.
It pointed to the construction of the new Salish, Grandview Heights and Sullivan Heights secondary schools and Regent Road, Edgewood, Douglas and Maddaugh Road elementary schools, along with several expansions and seismic upgrades since 2017 as progress on the file.
It said two additional new elementary schools and six elementary school expansions have been approved for funding.
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