Progress is being made on a long-awaited seismic upgrade to the elementary school in Port Renfrew.

The Sooke School District announcing funding for the projectB次元官网网址檚 business plan on Friday (March 31). It will lay out the groundwork for improving the school, which is B次元官网网址渙ne of the most seismically unsafe in the province,B次元官网网址� according to Sooke School District board chair Ravi Parmar.

Parmar said the project is the districtB次元官网网址檚 number one priority. Work on the plan, with provincial backing, has begun and the district expects to submit it to the province within a number of weeks.

Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Jeff Jones said the news is something people in his community have been waiting to hear for decades.

Lobbying efforts by SD62, as well as the Pacheedaht and the province, are also ongoing for the federal government to fund a school for Grade 6 to 12 students in Port Renfrew. Currently, students of those ages have to bus for nearly 2 hours each way to attend school in Sooke.

B次元官网网址淥ur graduation rate is very, very low. To get to school every day in Grade 12 is a challenge. Kids are dealing with winter storms, trees over the line, and situations like that. So (theyB次元官网网址檙e) missing school many, many days during the winter because itB次元官网网址檚 very challenging and it does throw you back on your education.,B次元官网网址� said Jones.

He added a number of families left the community after the logging industry died down in the area, but improvements to the elementary school and a potential new middle and high school down the line should help achieve its goal of bringing members back home.

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Speaking at what will likely be one of his last announcements as an MLA, John Horgan said seismic improvements have been a long time coming.

B次元官网网址淭he current school is made of cinderblock with mortar that would be dust in a strong breeze and they get a breeze or two in Port Renfrew. If heaven forbid thereB次元官网网址檇 be a seismic event, the people of Port Renfrew are supposed to muster at the unsafe school and wait for help.

B次元官网网址淪o I donB次元官网网址檛 have to highlight the absurdity of that it speaks for itself.B次元官网网址�

Horgan announced he would step away from his position as an MLA in February, after announcing in June 2022 he was stepping down as premier. A date for a byelection has not yet been set for HorganB次元官网网址檚 riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca, where voters first elected him in 2005. He won the riding with almost 67 per cent of cast votes in 2020.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e got other things to not do today. So IB次元官网网址檒l get busy on practicing that. But it is it has been the honour of my life to represent this constituency. It has been so exciting the past couple of weeks to just be John again and discover that itB次元官网网址檚 OK. In fact, itB次元官网网址檚 way better to just be John again.B次元官网网址�

READ MORE: SD62 capital plan includes seismic upgrades for Port Renfrew, 3 new West Shore schools

bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com
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