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New elementary school proposed for Eagle Mountain

School district has plans for a $13 million building to accommodate increasing enrolment
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A screenshot taken from a report proposing a new elementary school on Eagle Mountain.

The Abbotsford school district has plans to build a new elementary school in the Eagle Mountain neighbourhood to accommodate a projected increase in enrolment in the coming years.

The $13.9 million plan to build a new school has been deemed to be the best among a handful of options studied by the district, which included adding capacity to existing area schools.

The new school would be located on land adjacent to Eagle Mountain Park, near the intersection of Eagle Mountain Drive and Goodbrand Drive.

The three elementary schools in the Eagle Mountain area – McMillan, Mountain and Prince Charles – currently utilize 104.5 per cent of their operating capacity. This figure is projected to increase to 120 per cent by the year 2020 and 157 per cent by 2028.

The report says there needs to be 306 more kindergarten to Grade 5 spots in the area.

There is added urgency to the project now that Abbotsford's city council has approved plans for the 1,400-unit Vicarro Ranch, as well as other development projects in the area.

"It is anticipated that this supply of new housing will attract younger families to this area, resulting in growth in elementary school enrolment for this family of schools," the report states.

The district's enrolment predictions support the need for a new school opening by 2020.

The project has not yet received funding approval from the Ministry of Education.