Funding for new classrooms at Kelowna school

The province has announced funding to expand a Kelowna school that is seeing enrolment growth in one of Canada’s fastest growing cities.

The Education Ministry is providing $7.5 million to add 120 seats in five new classrooms at North Glenmore Elementary. The new classrooms are expected to be ready for students in fall 2024.

Education Minister Rachna Singh said the expansion will be a prefabricated addition that will get students into classrooms sooner.

“We are expanding schools to meet the needs of our growing communities,” Singh said. “With record population growth, our government will continue to invest in our schools as more cities like Kelowna welcome new students to their classrooms.”

The province has approved about $177 million to create 2,220 new student seats in the Central Okanagan District over the past six years. This includes a 12-classroom addition at École Dr. Knox Middle school currently underway, the completed École H.S. Grenda Middle and funding for the new George Pringle Secondary.

“We welcome this prudent investment in our growing community,” Lee-Ann Tiede, chair, Central Okanagan Public Schools board of education, said. “As we serve more students each year, projects like this offer an efficient way to build on our safe, welcoming and sustainable learning spaces.”