Students from Port Renfrew Elementary — tuning in remotely from the coastal community 75 kilometres northwest of Sooke — cheered Tuesday afternoon as close to $12 million in funding was announced for a replacement school.
Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Arliss Daniels was at the legislature for the announcement and said the new school will be a big boost for the area.
The current 1970-vintage kindergarten-Grade 5 school has 14 students and is considered one of the most seismically unsafe schools in the province.
The new school, expected to open in 2025, will have a 50-student capacity.
The children in Port Renfrew deserve a good future “and the new school will do that for them,” said Daniels, who thanked her predecessor, Jeff Jones, and others in the First Nation who worked to make the school a reality.
“Our futures are looking brighter and brighter each year,” Daniels said. “Things are going very well, and I’m very proud of former leadership for making this happen for the children.” Daniels said she has “no doubt” the school population will grow, as the nation works on increasing housing for its members.
The nation has been involved in the design of the new school and in setting its curriculum, said Langford-Juan de Fuca MLA Ravi Parmar, a former chair of the Sooke School Board.
“This new school is the single largest public investment that Port Renfrew has seen in decades,” he said.
Current board chair Amanda Dowhy said that collaboration with the Pacheedaht has been instrumental in getting the school funded, “and we look forward to furthering our partnership as the school project progresses from plans to reality.”
Education Minister Rachna Singh said the latest funding is part of about $270 million in provincial money allocated for 2,660 student seats in the fast-growing Sooke School District over the past six years.
The Pacheedaht are also looking to establish a Grade 6-12 school in Port Renfrew, which would spare students from a daily commute of an hour-and-a-half each way to get to middle and secondary school in Sooke.
Last year, the First Nation requested $24 million in federal funding for the new school. The school would come under federal jurisdiction because the Pacheedaht plan to run it themselves.
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