New school site approved

West Kelowna is closer to getting a new secondary school after Agricultural Land Commission approval of a site on Webber Road.

The ALC granted a request Nov. 15 by the Central Okanagan School District to build on the 14-acre former Webber Road Elementary property in the Glenrosa neighbourhood. 

ALC approval was necessary, as the high school's footprint would be considerably larger.

The district will now develop a feasibility and cost analysis for the province, and if given the go-ahead to proceed with design and construction, the school could be completed within three to four years.

"A new secondary school in West Kelowna will provide welcome relief to Mount Boucherie Secondary School, which already exceeds its capacity by 10 per cent and is projected to grow by five per cent each year," the district said in a press release.

Currently, students are crammed into nine portables at MBSS.

The search for a suitable site has been the district's No. 1 capital priority.

It was a challenge because there are few large sites in West Kelowna that are not in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the district said.