B.C. commits $12M to replace seismically unsafe school in Port Renfrew

Port Renfrew Elementary School is one of the most seismically unsafe schools in B.C., the provincial government says.

It’s a tiny school with big meaning for Port Renfrew and Pacheedaht First Nation, and now, it’s being replaced.

On Tuesday, the B.C. government announced $12 million to knock down and rebuild Port Renfrew Elementary — one of the most seismically unsafe schools in the province.

“This is the single largest investment our government has made in Port Renfrew in over a generation,” said Langford-Juan de Fuca MLA Ravi Parmar.

The 50-seat school is set to open in September of 2025.

For years, Pacheedaht and the Sooke School District have been pushing for a new elementary school. Just 14 students are enrolled there.

“Every child deserves an equitable, safe opportunity at education,” said Trystan Dunn-Jones, a teacher and former student at Port Renfrew Elementary.

“For these kids to have a new school coming to them, I think they’re in for success.”

Last March, the province committed to replacing the school, pending approval of a business case from the school district.

“The kids started planning which sibling is going to be in the new school and who’s going to get the first go at it, so I think the youth are very much excited,” Dunn-Jones said.

He and newly elected Chief Arliss Jones said the community needs another major investment in education: a secondary school. Students in Grades 6 to 12 go to school in Sooke, which is a 90-minute bus ride away.

“We just need to keep on pushing for a better education for our people, centralized in Pacheedaht territory and having our Nuu-Chah-Nulth ways as our foundation of living and learning,” Jones said.