A Surrey school closed about two years ago will be reopened to help address severe overcrowding at another nearby elementary school.
The former East Clayton Elementary, which used to house just kindergarten to Grade 3 students, was closed in 2009 and students relocated to Clayton Elementary, which had Grades 4 to 7.
However, with development booming in the Cloverdale neighbourhood, Hazelgrove Elementary, at 7057 191 St., is now far over-capacity and has 14 portables on site. With continued population growth, the school is expected to have 18 portables by 2012.
“The Surrey school district has not received any funding for new schools since 2005, despite our rapidly growing population,” said Mayor Dianne Watts. “We need new schools to be built. We need to get our children out of portables."
East Clayton is located on vacant city property near 186 Street and 72 Avenue. The city will lease the five-classroom East Clayton building and the surrounding land to the school district from now until June 2013, using it as an annex to Hazelgrove.
“Our board has recognized the need for a new elementary school in the East Clayton area of Cloverdale for some time and it continues to be at the top of our board’s five-year capital plan submission to the Ministry of Education,” said Surrey Board of Education chair Laurae McNally. “Reusing the former East Clayton school space with the assistance of the City of Surrey is another example of how our board is doing its best to manage our district’s growth while faced with a lack of new school funding."
A decision will be made within the next few weeks regarding the classes that will be located at East Clayton Elementary, which will be known as Hazelgrove Annex for the duration of its use.