The district is one step closer to a long-overdue replacement for the aging New Westminster Secondary School.
The company building the $17.6-million middle school presented the site design at the board of education's public meeting, where trustee Casey Cook said getting the high school built hinges on the construction cycle of three new schools in the city.
“Expediting the construction process at École Fraser Middle School allows the project at the high school to commence also on an expedited basis, once the project agreement is signed,” Cook told The Record.
When the new middle school is built, the district can funnel Grade 8 students to that school for September 2015 and then begin construction on the high school, Cook explained.
The district is working on three new schools for the city – an elementary school on the former St. Mary’s Hospital site, which is opening in September, a middle school at the John Robson elementary site, and a replacement high school.
Meanwhile, board chair Jonina Campbell praised the middle school plans - now officially named École Fraser River Middle School, which includes separate drama and music rooms, as well as a double gym.
"I was really taken with how bright and spacious it is inside the school," Campbell said. "I like how there is a lot of open areas and places for kids to gather, which I understand is pedagogically really important for the middle school - where kids have lots of workspaces, and it's designed in such a way that they are under supervision but working independently."
Campbell was also impressed with how the developer, Yellowridge Construction, worked with the complex school site, which currently houses John Robson Elementary and is situated on a steep grade.
At Tuesday's meeting, trustees heard that the site will also house a new board office with approximately 21 offices for staff.
The board office will be in a separate building from the school and have its own address and parking lot.
Currently, the district's board office downtown also houses two alternate and an adult education program. The district hasn't decided where those programs will go when the board offices move to the middle school site.
"We have 18 months to develop a plan for the alternate programs and the adult learning centres," Campbell said, noting trustees aren't considering putting the programs at the middle school.
The district wants to get out of its lease on the Columbia Square property, which eats up $700,000 from its operating budget annually.
"At the end of the day, it's been a strategic decision in order to free up operating funds and (to get) us out of these leases," Campbell said about the decision to move the board office.
As for the new middle school, its main entrance will be off Queens Avenue.
"I like how they've done that too, because it's the quieter of the streets," Campbell said. "It's safer for drop-offs and pick up."
The other appeal of Yellowridge's design is that it protects the 200-year-old trees on the site, she said.
The old John Robson Elementary school is slated to be demolished in August, and the new middle school will open in September 2015.
In order to meet the deadline, construction on the new school must begin this month, the district says. Parents at Robson were concerned about how construction will impact students during the final months of the school year. Yellowridge representatives told trustees the site will be fenced, dust will be controlled through monitoring, and they will work with the school's staff to ensure disruptions are kept to a minimum.
