Abbotsford schools seeking public input for improvements

The Abbotsford School District is looking to introduce around $18.5 million in renovations for the 2024 school year. The district is giving residents of the district’s taxpaying community the opportunity to voice their opinions on what they feel should and should not be included in the list of improvements.

The kick off to the planning stage included a listening session held on April 19 for members of the public to hear what proposed plans were on the table, and give a community voice to what the district might have missed or what they would like to see stricken from the list.

Turnout for the session was under whelming with 10-15 people attending the meeting including District Administrator Ryan Bargender and associates from HSR Associates and Market and Johnson.

The district came up with a list with estimated costs of $24 million. Not everything on the list will be included in the project but the school is looking for what the public believes to be the most needed.

Although the taxpayers will ultimately have the final say on whether or not the improvement project goes through, it’s important to share feedback with the district so one detail doesn’t turn a majority of voters away come the expected referendum voting period in April of 2024.

Things included are expansions to classrooms to meet current enrollment numbers, repairs to aging infrastructure, a parking lot renovation that would add 57 parking spots, additions to security in the high school entrance and even a proposal for turf on the football field.

Bargender mentioned that there is potential to ask multiple referendum questions in an effort to accommodate multiple viewpoints but we feel it would be easier if input was given to the district directly which allowed them to ask one question with confidence, dial back the improvements or choose not to go after a referendum if they felt it would not be passed.

The list of improvements could be negotiable but the district needs to hear feedback before a final plan is presented for referendum.

There are going to be multiple opportunities to present your thoughts on the project in the future. The district will hold a second listening session in May, a community-wide survey in August-October of 2023 and ultimately, the referendum in April of 2024.

There is also a QR code (shown below) which can be scanned using your smartphone camera to help give feedback to the district.