The Okanagan YMCA continues to pursue taking over the portable annex at George Elliot Secondary School as a childcare centre.
School district staff have me with the YMCA to discuss their needs and future plans for the portable annex, currently accommodating Grade 7 students until the new H.S. Grenda Middle School, now under construction adjacent to George Elliot, scheduled to open in September 2021.
| Conceptual design for the Okanagan YMCA childcare centre proposed for Lake Country. (Contributed) |
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Okanagan Regional Library was also involved in preliminary discussions about the annex use, but have since stepped aside, saying the annex doesn’t meet their needs.
With the Lake Country’s population expected to continue growing for the foreseeable future, the school district as cited a need to claim annex space for up to four classrooms as a buffer for future enrolment space demands.
Transitioning annex space back to classrooms in the future is something the Y has agreed to incorporate into their plans for the facility.
“The Okanagan YMCA invited an architectural design team to prepare conceptual plans for their programming needs and future transition back to school classrooms,” said a school district staff report.
The school district will also partner with the Y on program initiatives for the centre, and has submitted a funding application to the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development on behalf of the YMCA to supplement project costs for creating the childcare spaces.
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