White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin said that he is “extremely disappointed” by a Surrey School District capital plan that calls for new elementary school sites in South Surrey and an increase to Semiahmoo Secondary’s population by 200 students without mention of easing current pressure on Earl Marriott Secondary.
Baldwin spoke out against the plan at Monday evening’s council meeting, as councillors considered a report from city planning and development services director Carl Johannsen on the ‘eligible school site proposal’ component, part of District 36’s five-year capital plan for site acquisition.
“It is totally neglecting Earl Marriott, which is grossly overcrowded,” Baldwin said, noting the school is the main secondary option for many White Rock students.
“They’re not even talking about building a secondary in the Grandview area,” he said, adding that all the proposed elementary schools are “going to be feeding Earl Marriott as well.” (A 1,500 seat secondary school in Grandview has been announced by the school district, with a projected opening date of 2020).
“It’s getting increasingly bizarre – it’s going to affect their education.”
While council voted to receive the corporate report for information, and accept the resolution of the board regarding the eligible school site requirements – it has a requirement under the Local Government Act to accept or reject the proposal within 60 days – Baldwin said he would be writing to the board “on my own hook” to express his dismay.
In his report, Johannsen said that “while all of the eligible school sites are located within the City of Surrey, three new elementary school sites proposed within the Grandview area of South Surrey will assist in balancing school capacity for schools that have catchment areas including the City of White Rock.”
The three new elementaries for the Grandview area would each have a 655-student capacity, and the school board will have to spend $126 million to acquire 17.9 hectares of land for new school sites and expansion.
Johannsen said city staff had reviewed school district estimates of 42,728 new development units over the next 10 years and found them in agreement with overall projections in the area, noting that the majority will be built in Surrey.
Semiahmoo Secondary’s capacity will be increased from 1,300 students to 1,500.
Other items in the five-year plan, summarized by Johannsen, include adding four classrooms to White Rock Elementary, a $963,000 upgrade to heating/ventilation at Peace Arch Elementary, construction of a 605-student elementary in the Douglas neighbourhood, and boosting Sunnyside Elementary’s capacity to 650 students and Pacific Heights Elementary’s to 630.