The Kamloops-Thompson School District says it has formal support from the Ministry of Education to begin planning for a new school in the Batchelor Heights neighbourhood of Kamloops.

It is the top capital priority per the District’s Capital Plan, which was submitted to the Ministry in June 2021.

“The Ministry’s positive response to our capital plan submission for 2022-2023 is much needed and appreciated,” SD73 Board Chair Heather Grieve said, in a statement.

“Our enrolment numbers are climbing by the equivalent of a medium-sized elementary school each year. This support for a new school in Batchelor Heights is a welcome sign that some relief is coming to our most overcrowded school facilities in Kamloops.”

There is no school in the Batchelor Heights area of Kamloops, with students going to nearby Westmount Elementary School.

However, with that school at 181 per cent capacity – and with 41 per cent of students in six portables – SD73 proposed a catchment area change earlier this year, sending some students from Westmount Elementary to either David Thompson Elementary or Westsyde Elementary.

“Our board and staff have worked together to listen, consult, and support community members who have been impacted by catchment changes,” Grieve added.

“This is certainly a positive step as throughout this last year, and years prior, we have heard from parents and staff about the need to address enrolment pressures at this school,” added SD73 Superintendent, Dr. Rhonda Nixon.

Design and construction on the new Batchelor Heights school will take approximately three years once funding is approved from the Province. At this time, there is no timeline what that might be.

In May last year, Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said her ministry had asked the Kamloops-Thompson School District to produce a business case for a school in Pineview Valley. Just like Batchelor Heights, a new school in Pineview Valley has also been one of the school district’s top priorities for a couple of years.

The Pineview School is expected to cost at least $33-million.

“Students deserve to learn in positive, engaging, and inspiring classrooms and we are working hard to provide the best learning experience possible for children in Kamloops and throughout B.C.,” Whiteside said, in a statement.

“We have already announced $71.3 million to add 645 new student seats to Kamloops’ schools since 2017, and our support for a new school in Batchelor Heights is another example of our commitment to investing in the future of our communities.”

The newly rebuilt Parkcrest Elementary School has 120 of those new seats, while the expansion to Valleyview Secondary has the other 525.