(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
January 15, 2017 - 2:00 PM
KELOWNA - A new middle school is planned and rearing to go in the upper Mission.
“We have the piece of property zoned and ready, we’re just waiting on the approval from the provincial government,” School District secretary-treasurer Larry Paul says.
The piece of land put aside for the proposed middle school is located in The Ponds development.
The new school would take 700 to 750 students. Paul says if the school were to open tomorrow, it would be full.
“We already have enough kids to fill the school completely,” he says.
The school would have students from grade six to grade eight.
According to Paul, there are 220 grade six students spread throughout schools in the mission area. This includes Anne McClymont, Chute Lake and Dorothea Walker Elementary.
“We’re really looking forward to getting approval soon because we’re really tight on space - we’re bursting at the seams,” he said.
Currently there are 450 grade seven and eight students attending Okanagan Mission Secondary School.
Once construction is underway, Paul says the school should take about two and a half years to complete. The typical cost of a middle school is between $35 and $38 million.
Constable Neil Bruce was the last brand new middle school to be opened in the region, back in 2000.
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