Funding has been approved to replace and expand Carson Elementary in Quesnel.
As much as $61.2 million is being provided by the Province to build the new school which will have increased capacity of 195 seats for a total of 390.
It will also include an expanded gym and a neighbourhood learning centre that will provide services like child care.
Tony Goulet, the Chair of Quesnel’s Board of Education, says it’s too early to say how the District might utilize the new space.
“We just haven’t had those discussions yet so we will be doing that as we move through the process, so just happy that we got the announcement and we’ll being the work. It has been quite a challenge for families and for us since 2021 when there was a landslide
In 2021 a safety assessment determined the school should be replaced after a landslide revealed that the current Carson Elementary site does not meet BC’s guidelines for safety against sliding.
A portion of the school was closed and new portables were installed on site in March of last year as a temporary solution.
In 2022 the government provided $2.1 million for the district to purchase a site for the future school.
Goulet says that site is in the same neighbourhood in an area called Carson flats.
Construction on the new school is expected to begin in the spring of 2024 with completion set for the fall of 2025.
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