First Day Of School, But No Long-Term Solutions To Overcrowding In Surrey’s Schools

Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says the overcrowding of Surrey schools continues as students return to classes today, with no long-term solution in sight from the provincial government.
 “We expect 2500 more students will head to Surrey schools this term, but we continue to fall further and further behind,” said Annis. “Our city continues to grow, and the provincial government is pressing us to build even more housing, but they continue to fail to do their part when it comes to building and opening more schools. Extending school hours this year in our city’s high schools so students can attend in shifts, is nothing more than a temporary fix. It is not the solution we really need, which is more schools.”
 Annis says there are nearly 400 portables in Surrey housing some 8,000 students. She adds that with 2500 new students annually, it is the equivalent of four new schools each and every year, but the province is not keeping up.
 “The fact is, there should be zero tolerance for portables, particularly when we know what the solution is,” said Annis. “We also need more creative solutions to building public schools, including partnerships with the private sector, as they have done in Alberta and Saskatchewan. There should also be schools that are built higher to provide more capacity on the same footprint, and new condo towers should look at schools on their ground floors as a community amenity.”
Annis said Surrey will be British Columbia’s largest city in just five years, so continued growth in the city’s student population can be expected for years to come.
“I’m not sure why the provincial government continues to shortchange Surrey students and their families, but it is real, and temporary fixes are definitely not the solution,” noted Annis. “Our students and our school district deserve better. We will have 10 MLAs from Surrey after the October provincial election, and every one of them needs to make the need for more schools a real priority for our city. The simple fact is, the provincial government is not doing enough, and there is no serious plan to fix the problem they have created in Surrey. By not keeping up with new school construction, the government has made the problem worse. That has to change dramatically if we’re going to get Surrey’s children into the schools and classrooms they deserve.”