Lake Country’s new middle school will get a new name long before its built.
Lake Country schools will gather input through public engagement and an online survey during the first three weeks of the school year, according to a report which will be presented during a regular school board meeting Wednesday night.
After suggestions are gathered, the results will be presented during to the Oct. 17 Planning and Facilities Committee Meeting. The committee will then put forth a recommendation for a name to the school board.
“The earlier you can get the school name on all the documents the better, which is why we are doing this,” said school board chairperson Moyra Baxter.
“Once the ministry starts giving it a name, they might just call it Lake Country Middle School.”
There is a public policy in place that will prevent against names like Schoolie McSchoolface, she said.
The new Lake Country middle school is scheduled to open in September 2021, with 600 new spaces for students in grades 6 to 8. It will be built on district-owned property south of George Elliot Secondary and will include a neighbourhood learning centre for the community. Construction is set to begin in September 2018.
Lake Country’s schools are operating at 125 per cent capacity, and enrolment forecasts show a shortfall of 368 seats by 2026.
Adding a new middle school addresses the shortfall by adding additional spaces and allowing the district to move to a grade configuration that includes middle schools across the Central Okanagan.
The provincial government is providing $35.1 million to build the school. The Central Okanagan School District will contribute $1.5 million to the project, in addition to the $3.8 million already spent on land for the new school.
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