Construction starts on 6-classroom expansion to Lynn Valley Elementary

The province and local school trustees marked the start of construction on a six-classroom expansion to Lynn Valley Elementary school on Wednesday.

The $9-million expansion, which will add 145 more spaces to the school, will allow the school to get rid of four portable classrooms currently in use as temporary classrooms.

Lynn Valley Elementary currently has an official capacity of 295 students (not counting the portables) but a projected enrolment of 381 students for the upcoming school year.

Enrolment is project to grow to more than 400 students by 2031. After the expansion, the school will have a capacity of 440 students, according to the school district. Lynn Valley Elementary was last rebuilt in 2004 at a cost of about $4.3 million.

The expansion, first announced by the province in December 2022, is expected to be ready for students by the spring of 2026.

The Lynn Valley addition is not the only school expansion taking place in North Vancouver.

Modular addition coming to Westview

North Vancouver’s Westview Elementary School will also be getting a $6-million modular classroom addition, the province announced in June.

The new modular will have space for four additional classrooms, making room for 100 more students at the school.

The school, which was rebuilt in 2008, is currently over capacity, with enrolment of 286 – 62 students more than the school’s official capacity of 224.

Two portables are scheduled to be installed at the school this summer, with the modular classroom expected to be ready by the fall of 2025.

Linda Munro, chair of the North Vancouver Board of Education, said in a press statement that adding capacity to accommodate a growing student population is a top priority for the school district.

Every year, school districts submit capital plans to the province, prioritizing a wish list of new schools, replacements and expansion projects. The province then reviews those lists when deciding which projects to fund.

Enrolment in North Vancouver was higher than expected by almost 280 students at the start of the school year and has grown by over 250 students since then.

Most of that enrolment growth has been driven by immigration, and much of it has been concentrated in the City of North Vancouver.

The modular expansion at Westview Elementary is part of a trend by the province to build prefab additions as a faster and cheaper way to increase classroom space.

Unlike portables, most prefab classrooms include washrooms and ventilation systems. Many are designed with multiple classrooms, corridors and lockers. Prefabricated additions are permanent structures, with an expected lifespan of 30 to 50 years, according to the province.

A new 585-seat Cloverley Elementary school is also set to be built in North Vancouver at a cost of $64 million.

Still on the school district’s wish list is another new school in the Lower Lonsdale area.