B.C.’s premier says Tumbler Ridge Secondary School will be demolished and rebuilt after February’s deadly mass shooting.
David Eby made the announcement on the steps of the Legislature Thursday afternoon, saying the province is “committed to get this new school built as quickly as possible.”
“The direction of the community is clear, they wanted to go with a new school on a new site,” he said.
“The work that was done by the school board was incredibly important, because we want to make sure we’re doing things right, by the survivors, by the families, by the people of Tumbler Ridge. They need to direct this.”
On Feb. 10, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar shot and killed her mother and half-brother at home before fatally shooting five children and an educator at the school, as well as injuring numerous others.
The police investigation into the shooting is in its final stages.
About 160 students across Grades 7 to 12 attend the secondary school, and Eby pledged in the wake of the tragedy that none of the students would be forced to return.
Students have since returned to school in temporary modular classrooms set up on the grounds of the local elementary school.
Eby said the local school board will work with the community and experts to develop an initial design for the new school.
He hopes the plan will be brought back to the community before the end of the year.
“It’s absolutely vital that we have victims’ voices, that we have community voices, in everything we do moving forward,” said B.C. Education Minister Lisa Beare.
‘It feels very isolated’: Tumbler Ridge student on return to class
Eby said the province doesn’t yet have cost estimates for the new school.
He said the province will be working with the federal government to cover the costs, including design and construction as well as demolition and rehabilitation of the old school site.
Eby called it a “special project” for the province.
“There’s just so much good will for Tumbler Ridge, whether it’s among the province as a whole or the contracting community, the construction community, the people who would be working on this project,” Eby said.
“I suspect that we will be able to pull people together very quickly to respond and get this project built quickly for the kids of Tumbler Ridge.”
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