The provincial government has confirmed funding for a new middle school in Kelowna.
The new school, to be located on school district property adjacent to the Apple Bowl. It is a $101 million project and will add 800 new seats for students in Grades 6-8.
While the government release stated the school was named Burtch Road Middle School, Central Okanagan Public Schools communications advisor Justin Schneider confirmed the school's name has not been determined yet. It will be named in the coming years, according to SD23's .
The site was originally targeted as a potential location for a new secondary school, but size limitations changed the priority to it becoming a smaller-enrolment, middle school.
While a completion date for the new school has not been confirmed yet, it is expected that the new middle school will open up the possibility of École Dr. Knox Valley Middle, which recently underwent an expansion, evolving into a secondary school to serve the Glenmore area, relieving some of the enrolment pressure at École Kelowna Secondary.
"A new middle school in the heart of Kelowna will ease pressure on other schools and offer myriad community connections for our students and families," said Julie Fraser, chair of the Central Okanagan Board of Education, in the provincial news release.
In a followup interview with Black Press Media, Fraser said the school district is "elated" about the announcement, largely because of the potential impact the new school will bring for establishing learning and community connections.
"We've been advocating for this since two terms ago for me as a school trustee, that is eight years," she said.
She feels the school will serve as a community hub, complementing the adjacent Apple Bowl and Parkinson Recreation Centre facilities and programs.
She said the timeline for completion of Burtch Road Middle has yet to be finalized, but she expects the process to be less complicated and move along quicker than construction of the new George Pringle Secondary in West Kelowna.
Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma cited that the new school will add to the more than $400 million investment for building and upgrading schools in the Central Okanagan.
"As more families choose Kelowna, we need to make sure students have the schools they need to succeed," stated Ma.
Since 2017, the province has funded nearly 4,400 new spaces for Central Okanagan school students, 1,770 of which are complete.
In the Central Okanagan, construction is currently underway for the new Westside Secondary, and other modular additions have been completed or are currently underway in the past year for existing schools to lower the demand for use of portables.
