Another Richmond elementary school has begun the process of a full seismic upgrade as of Friday afternoon.
Minister of Education and Childcare Rachna Singh was joined by the Richmond Board of Education and Richmond South Centre MLA Henry Yao at Howard DeBeck elementary for the groundbreaking.
The $20.7 million in funding to seismically upgrade the school that has 350 students was announced last year.
Howard DeBeck was built in 1991 with an addition made to the school in 2000.
The project is expected to be finished and ready in fall 2025.
"We are pleased that by seismically upgrading the school, we can ensure that Howard DeBeck continues to be a wonderful place for students to learn and grow safely for many years," said Singh.
Heather Larson, chair of the Richmond Board of Education, said there is "continuous progress" between the school district and the provincial government to make sure Richmond schools are safe.
"We're dedicated to working together to ensure that our schools remain secure environments for all students and staff," said Larson.
Over the past five years, 12 seismic upgrades and partial seismic replacement projects have taken place in the Richmond School District.
About 20 other schools are still waiting for funding for seismic upgrades.
Meanwhile, the Richmond School District has also been faced with ongoing concerns regarding increased enrolment pressures and the lack of progress for another city centre school to address this issue.
So far, the district's temporary solution has been to add more portables -- five at Cook elementary, four at Brighouse, four at Tomsett and one at Talmey -- all of which are city centre schools.
When asked what the ministry's plan is for this issue, Singh noted there is enrolment pressure on all school districts in B.C.
She said the government continues to be committed to investing in more capital projects, in addition to the more than $4 billion the ministry has already put into capital projects since 2017.
"Whether it's the new school expansions or upgrades, we will continue to work with the school districts to address this problem," said Singh.
She added the ministry will continue to work with the school district and listen to "the issues they are facing, especially the enrolment pressure."
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