The provincial government said construction is underway for 1,500 new spaces for students in B.C., with Fort St John to receive 200 new seats from the project.
All the new spaces will be in Dr. Kearney Middle School, which is one of two middle schools in the city. The school reported having about 625 students, who range from grade seven to grade nine.
Lisa Beare, the provincial Minister of Education and Child Care, said this investment is not just in schools, but in children.
“With modern learning environments, students are better equipped to thrive academically, socially and emotionally,” said Beare.
Fort St John is the only northern city to see new spaces created from this project, which the B.C. government said is a part of their $119 million project to support growing school districts.
Fort St John city councillor Sarah MacDougall said the city is delighted with the province’s investment in education.
“We are thrilled to see the province investing in our community, these 200 seats are really important as we see a large number of students at the junior-secondary level in our community,” said MacDougall. “It’s great that they’re going to have that modern, safe, new space to really learn and grow in our community.”
Work on the additional eight classrooms and common space has commenced at the middle school.
“We’re very excited, it sounds like it’s supposed to be up and running this September,” the councillor said.
B.C. said providing students with, “safe, modern classrooms right in their neighbourhood” is a priority – and the reason for their investment in this project.
