A Richmond elementary school is slated to get modular classrooms amid enrolment growth in the school district.
R.C. Talmey elementary will be getting six prefabricated modular classrooms to the tune of $9 million as part of the 2024/2025 Five-Year Capital Plan.
Each classroom is estimated to cost $1.5 million each and the school district is expecting to have the classrooms on site within a year.
This upgrade was recently approved by the Ministry of Education and Child Care and will add approximately 150 seats at the school.
Trustee Donna Sargent described the announcement as exciting but "with mixed emotions."
"Prefab modulars are a very small band-aid approach," said Sargent at Wednesday's public board of education meeting, adding there is a desperate need for two brand new schools in city centre.
"I hope the ministry knows this is a small ask for an emergent need in city centre.
"I don't want to sound ungracious, (but) it's not the way we want our young people to go to school."
The Richmond School District projected there would be 21,397 students enrolling for the 2023/2024 school year, however, there were 671 more students enrolled (total of 21,916 students) in Richmond schools than expected.
The school district received a $16.5 million in funding last fall from the province to add a total of 11 modular classrooms at Brighouse and Cook elementary schools to support this growth.
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