Mission getting 1st middle school
Kelowna’s Mission neighbourhood is getting its first middle school, the province announced on Friday.
The new three-storey school will accommodate 750 students from Grades 6 to 8.
It will be located on Frost Road in the Upper Mission.
The provincial government is investing $35.1 million and the Central Okanagan school district will invest $1 million toward the construction of the school.
Construction is expected to be completed by September 2019.
The district bought the site in 2013 for $2.05 million.
“This is absolutely needed,” said Moyra Baxter, school board chairwoman, of the new school.
“If you go up into that area of Kelowna and the Okanagan Mission, you’ll see how quickly the area is growing.”
The new school will relieve overcrowding issues at nearby elementary schools and allow middle school students to be moved out of Okanagan Mission Secondary, she said.
Currently, OKM Secondary is a Grade 7 to 12 school.
Once the new middle school is built, the configuration of the high school will change to Grade 9 to 12 and the elementary schools will become kindergarten to Grade 5.
The district is transitioning all schools to follow this grade configuration, but so far the only neighbourhood to make the change is Rutland.
Replacement of Rutland Middle School is another top priority for the district, but it is up to the government to decide which projects receive funding, said Baxter.
“We have some other things on our wish list including Rutland Middle and other projects, and we’re hoping they might be approved as well,” she said, adding the announcement of the new middle school in the Mission is good news for the community. “It has been on the top of our list for new buildings for quite a few years.”
“It is crucial that we continue to support our growing community here in Okanagan Mission,” said Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission.
“Today’s announcement of funding for a new middle school in this area is doing just that, supporting spaces for our middle school students that will help them learn, grow and succeed for years to come.”