Portables and population: Surrey council declares lack of school infrastructure a ‘crisis’

With more than 78,000 students now enrolled in Surrey schools, Metro Vancouver’s second-largest city says its school infrastructure — or lack thereof — is in a state of “crisis.”

Mayor and council made the sweeping declaration Monday, projecting 400 portables could be in place outside local schools by September next year.

“The pressure to create more housing cannot be done in isolation. Core infrastructure such as schools must be built in lockstep with new housing,” said Mayor Brenda Locke in a Tuesday news release.

“We know that without rapid investment, our schools are facing a dire situation.”

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“We need action and investment in building more schools in Surrey now.”

5:52 Teachers weigh in on rising number of portables in Surrey schools

As it stands, many of Surrey’s schools are operating above capacity.

Reports to Monday’s council on land use identified the Goldstone Park, Woodward Hill and Cambridge elementary schools as “severely overcrowded” with multiple portables in use. Sullivan Heights Secondary, which opened last September, is also already above capacity with 10 portables, the report said.

The province has approved funding to build a new 612-student Snokomish Elementary school to ease the pressure in that catchment area, slated to open in 2025. The Surrey School District, meanwhile, is planning to build a new elementary school in 2024, called Ta’talu Elementary, to ease pressure on Edgewood Elementary School.

That school, which opened in January 2021, is also overcrowded with seven portables on site, the report stated.

1:48 Surrey school overcrowding warning troubles parents and politicians

“Portables are a short-term solution to quickly accommodate our growing student population, but this is not a sustainable solution due to cost and space limitations,” said Surrey Board of Education vice-chair Gary Tymoschuk in the release.

“We need new schools and additions to existing sites to accommodate this rapid growth, and we look forward to working with the province and the city to address this growth.”

The Surrey School District said it’s currently using 361 portables across its sites and will be moving 56 this summer to accommodate growth in other areas at a cost of more than $7.22 million. It’s also buying another 30 portables for the fall.

2:11 Portables on the rise in Surrey schools

In 2017, the BC NDP promised that if elected, it would eliminate portables in Surrey schools by 2020. At the time, there were 250 portables in the city.

“Kids and families in Surrey need modern, safe schools, and we are committed to delivering for them,” Education Minister Rachna Singh wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday.

“We will continue to invest in Surrey schools as we make up for years of infrastructure deficits left by the old government. While the old government failed to open any new schools for multiple years, we are delivering over half a billion dollars in new funding that is creating 400 new classrooms for 10,000 kids, with more on the way.”

Since 2017, the Ministry of Education said it has completed 16 new schools and expansions in Surrey kids, compared to zero new schools and one expansion completed between 2014 to 2017 by its predecessor.

As of December last year, seven new school builds or capacity additions were approved for Surrey on the B.C. government’s website, including the Snokomish and Ta’talu elementary schools. Those projects add up to more than $147 million, with occupancy dates ranging from fall of 2023 to fall of 2025.

Another eight projects were recently completed in Surrey, such as the new Grandview Heights Secondary and Regent Road Elementary schools, and a three-storey addition to Sullivan Heights Secondary School.

— with files from Simon Little