B.C.’s Education Minister is committing to building a new elementary school in Kamloops.

Speaking during budget estimates in the Legislature, Jennifer Whiteside says her ministry has asked the Kamloops-Thompson School District to produce a business case for a school in Pineview Valley.

“I’m really happy. The capital letter just went out to the school district this week and happy to announce recent support in that letter to produce a business case for a new school in the Pineview Valley area of the region,” Whiteside said.

These comments came as Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone questioned the minister about the government’s plan to address ballooning enrollment and the reliance on portable classrooms in the city.

“We need more schools in Kamloops,” Stone said. “I’d like to ask the minister if she can provide the families of Kamloops and SD73 with some level of comfort that it’s a reasonable expectation that there may be some much-needed school capital coming to the city of Kamloops in the near term?”

The Kamloops-Thompson School District is planning to reopen Ralph Bell Elementary school in Sept. 2022 because of that increasing enrolment levels in the city of Kamloops.

“We have an additional 525 spaces at Valleyview [Secondary], an additional 120 at Parkcrest [Elementary] and it’s anticipated that the new Pineview Valley school will be 485 spaces,” Whiteside added, when taking about new school spaces in Kamloops. “That will reduce portable reliance in the region by 45.”

There is no word on a what the new Pineview Valley school will look like or when construction will get underway. A new school in Pineview Valley has been one of SD73’s top priorities for a couple of years. The district expects the new school to cost at least $33-million.

“Some positive school capital news for parents in the Pineview Valley neighbourhood of Kamloops,” Stone added, in a facebook post. “Along with MLA Peter Milobar, I will continue to advocate for the additional school capital that is needed across the entire City of Kamloops.”

NL News has reached out to School District 73 for more information