Bigger, safer school coming soon to Brentwood Park

The Ministry of Childcare and Education announced on Nov. 30 that work on expanding and upgrading the Brentwood Park Elementary School is underway. The new school is expected to be completed in September 2026. 

According to an official statement by the ministry, “In addition to the 165-seat expansion, three wings of the school will be seismically upgraded with more than $39 million from the province.” 

The statement added that the school upgrade will include 37 new childcare spaces for children up to five years old, with $2.2 million in funding from ChildCareBC. An additional $1.4 million will be dedicated to a child care centre offering before- and after-school child care spaces at Brentwood Park Elementary. “This will give parents greater convenience with one pickup and dropoff location at the school,” the statement said. 

Bill Brassington, chair of the Burnaby School Board, told the Beacon that the school upgrade will include a larger gym in addition to the new spaces for students. This gym will be built in collaboration with the City of Burnaby’s Parks and Recreation Commission and will be utilized as a multi-use community space outside of school hours. Some examples of activities Brassington gave were scouts, sports events, and similar activities. 

According to Brassington, while the school is not in dire need of upgrades and new safety measures, it has been operating above its capacity for some time as it is located in the fastest-growing community in Burnaby. Brassington added that the current provincial government has been more responsive in moving projects to completion. 

“What we’ve seen since 2017 the change in government is that we’ve seen a rapid increase in school builds and expansions in Burnaby and seismic upgrades as well,” he said. “I noticed over the last year and a bit, just how this process has become accelerated and how more projects are coming online. We’re very grateful to the ministry and also to the city. When we look to do anything, we work together.” 

Brassington gave the example of the Burnaby North Secondary school project, which he said was announced seven times by the previous government without a business plan. The new Burnaby North school, which was originally supposed to open by fall 2022, is now scheduled to open in January 2024.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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