For Immediate Release
Langley City, BC – Langley City Council urges the Ministry of Education and Child Care to invest money in expanding schools in Langley City to address overcrowding.
“School enrolment within the City has increased beyond current capacity over the past few years with the adoption of our new Official Community Plan that supports the Provincial objective of increasing housing stock for families with children,” said Mayor Nathan Pachal. “The arrival of the SkyTrain by 2028 and new provincial housing requirements will increase housing units and students by 241 percent and 142 percent, respectively, within the next decade.”
The number of Development Permit applications received for multifamily residential projects over the last four years represents an annual addition of 5% to 8% to the existing housing stock. The Nicomekl neighbourhood is experiencing the highest growth in the City, absorbing approximately 80% of the City’s net population growth. “There will be another 165 students in the Nicomekl neighbourhood over the next four years and we desperately need to expand Nicomekl Elementary School immediately to address this increase,” said Mayor Pachal. “The eight-classroom expansion scheduled for 2025/26 is a positive step but we can’t wait that long. We need a firm commitment from the Provincial Government to approve the estimated cost of $28,030,139 for the expansion project and/or advance funding for this project to 2024/25.”
Langley City’s developments continue to contribute toward School Site Acquisition Charges with no significant benefits to students in Langley City. “We need the investment to remain in Langley City for Langley City schools. We can’t ignore that other neighbourhoods in our community will be facing growth as well. This will necessitate further capital investment in other City schools to ensure they can reasonably accommodate student growth through adding new classrooms or expanding/renovating existing school buildings and sites,” said Mayor Pachal.
Langley City has a great working relationship with the Ministry of Education and the School District 35 Board and we look forward to collaboratively ensuring that the necessary funds are allocated accordingly for the construction, expansion, or renovation of Langley City schools to meet current and future needs.
Media Inquiries:
Francis Cheung, P. Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer
City of Langley
604.514.2802
fcheung@langleycity.ca