August 27, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Despite new school construction, many students in B.C. will continue to attend classes in portable classrooms, highlighting a significant and ongoing issue of overcrowding.
Yesterday, the B.C. NDP government showcased a new modular expansion at Surrey’s Woodland Park Elementary. The building, largely vacant before the school year begins next week, stands in stark contrast to the reality of overcrowded schools throughout the district.
Anne Whitmore, president of the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council, expressed her disappointment with the government’s announcement. She stated that the equivalent of roughly 16 elementary schools’ worth of students are currently learning in portables, a number that has grown gradually over time. According to Whitmore, the announcement “doesn’t reflect the reality” on the ground.
The new addition at Woodland Park Elementary will add 400 new seats. This comes as the district’s population has surged, with Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma noting that British Columbia’s population grew by nearly 200,000 people in the last year alone. Ma claimed that no other jurisdiction, except for China, could build that quickly.
In total, Surrey will see 725 new seats this September, with construction beginning on an additional 2,300 seats this summer.
In an effort to manage the overcrowding, Surrey is also launching a pilot program this year to experiment with a hybrid online and in-person learning model. However, Whitmore warned that this program adds to the existing logistical challenges for families, making the situation “that much more complicated.”
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