Seismic upgrades and a 100-seat expansion have been completed at Keating Elementary in Saanichton.

The math is simple, yet significant. Another 450 Greater Victoria students have been added to the growing list of children learning in safer classrooms.

“Our government is working hard to give every student in B.C. a seismically safe place to go to school, and I’m excited to know that’s now the case for more students at Keating Elementary,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education. “With a safe learning environment and room for 100 more students, Keating Elementary is an improved school that will benefit the community for years to come.”

Seismic upgrades have been approved at five schools in the Greater Victoria area in the last two years, with a combined value of $104.6 million, that will better protect students in the event of an earthquake once work is complete. This includes:

• Campus View Elementary
• Braefoot Elementary
• Keating Elementary (includes 100-seat expansion)
• Children’s Development Centre
• Victoria High (includes 200-seat expansion)

“With this investment, Keating Elementary is safe and now has the capacity needed to serve students and families in the community for years to come,” said Victoria Martin, chair, Saanich Board of Education.

With the completion of these projects, more than 2,000 seats will soon be seismically safe for Greater Victoria students by 2022. The Seismic Mitigation Program has been accelerated to ensure all B.C. students are attending safe schools as soon as possible.

In addition to the projects that are underway, two more Greater Victoria schools will be supported for seismic upgrades – Cedar Hill and Shoreline middle schools. The Province is working with the Greater Victoria School District to find the best path forward to make those schools seismically safe for students.

Since September 2017, the Province has announced more than $1.7 billion in school capital funding, including nearly $900 million for seismic upgrades at 40 B.C. schools, creating over 24,000 safe student spaces.

To continue accelerating the Seismic Mitigation Program, Budget 2019 provides a record $2.7 billion for school capital investments, including $791 million for seismic upgrades at high-risk schools throughout British Columbia.