Rutland Middle School is pictured in this undated file photo.
Image Credit: SD23
April 28, 2021 - 4:32 PM
The Central Okanagan school district has started a campaign to convince the province to replace aging Rutland Middle School in Kelowna.
For the last 15 years, the school district has tried to find ways to upgrade or replace the middle school which is now more than 70 years old.
Back in 2018, the school district wanted to demolish Quigley Elementary and relocate the middle school at that site, but the plan was shot down by the province because it would have removed an elementary school that was needed in a city with growing population, school district secretary-treasurer Ryan Stierman said.
READ MORE: Replacing Rutland Middle School becomes a district priority
Now the school district plans to build a new middle school next to the Quigley elementary and utilize the gym for the middle school. The elementary school would remain on site and a gym would be built on the other side of Quigley, he said.
An advocacy plan was approved by the Board of Education this spring to bring public awareness to urgent capital projects which includes the middle school, he said.
Everyone in Rutland knows a new Rutland Middle School is overdue - help our Board of Education make sure the right...
Posted by Central Okanagan Public Schools on Tuesday, April 27, 2021
“Rutland Middle School was the first project that a video was created for because it has been the project that has been requested for the longest time,” Stierman said.
The school district is currently awaiting a response from the Ministry of Education on its current five-year capital plan.
Rutland Middle School currently uses 11 portables to house 46% of its students.
If approved, the project will cost $58.5 million.
“Every year a project is not approved, obviously it gets more expensive, especially in this market right now, the cost of materials and cost of labour is quite significant being in a more booming economy,” Stierman said.
More information on the advocacy campaign can be found on the Central Okanagan school district's website here.
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