Quesnel’s Board of Education has purchased a new school site to replace Carson Elementary.
The purchase was for 2.1 million dollars and the site is in the same neighbourhood down below in the Carson flats area.
Board Chair Tony Goulet says they are obviously pleased with the announcement.
“We are very excited for the announcement and we are working in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Childcare on the purchase of a property so we can begin to build a new school. This is the first stage of many, this is the first step, and hopefully it will lead to the replacement of the Carson Elementary School. We’re just working through the process.”
Goulet says the next step is what’s called a Project Development Report…
“Now our process is to go through the PDR and develop what the school is going to look like, the capacity and all those things, so we will begin that process now in 2023.”
Rachna Singh, the Minister of Education and Child Care, says providing students with a safe place to learn is a top priority of the government.
“I’m pleased we’ve taken the first step by securing a site for the new school, and we will continue to work closely with the Quesnel Board of Education to advance the new Carson Elementary School.”
A recent landslide revealed that the current Carson Elementary site doesn’t meet the Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s and BC Building Code guidelines for safety against sliding.
As a short-term solution, the school district relocated four classes to portables at the south end of the field.