FAMILIES in Surrey will have more classroom space as the new École Snokomish Elementary school opens and construction begins on an addition at Tamanawis Secondary school, bringing 1,230 new student seats to the community.

“These new schools mean more local classroom space for students and less pressure on families who want their children to learn close to home,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure, on Thursday. “By investing in modern, safe schools in Surrey, we’re making sure communities have the public infrastructure they need today and into the future.”

The new École Snokomish Elementary includes:

* opening 655 new seats

* 23 general instruction classrooms and four kindergarten classrooms

* neighbourhood learning centre used for child care

* greenhouse-gas reduction strategies to increase energy efficiency in the building

The new addition at Tamanawis Secondary will include:

* opening 575 new seats

* 16 general instruction classrooms, two general science rooms, an art room, two drama rooms, a foods room and a technology room.

* neighbourhood learning centre to be used for child care

* greenhouse-gas reduction strategies to increase energy efficiency in the building

“Schools are at the heart of every community,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Education and Child Care. “These projects will give students in Surrey more room to learn, play and connect, while helping schools better support diverse learning needs now and in the years ahead.”

The Province invested almost $39 million in Snokomish Elementary and $52 million in Tamanawis Secondary.

The Surrey School District provided additional funding of $5 million for Snokomish Elementary and $4.5 million for Tamanawis Secondary.

Since 2017, the Province has approved more than $1 billion to create 16,260 new seats and more than 4,100 seismically safer seats for Surrey students. In total, 11,120 of these new student seats have opened and more than 5,140 new seats are underway.

“École Snokomish Elementary has been thoughtfully planned and built to meet the needs of students, staff and families in the Sullivan community,” said Gary Tymoschuk, Chair, Surrey board of education. “The school’s design and name reflect our meaningful consultation and collaboration with the Semiahmoo First Nation to honour and recognize the Indigenous history of the area.”

Creating more student spaces throughout B.C.

Since 2017, the Province has approved more than $6.7 billion for schools:

* creating more than 47,150 new student seats

* more than 39,000 seismically safer seats in B.C. schools

* of these spaces, more than 22,000 new and more than 33,000 seismically safer seats are already complete.