The B.C. Government says construction on the new Sníne Elementary school in Pineview Valley is underway.

In a news release, it reconfirmed its commitment to spending $65.3 million to build the long-awaited  K-to 7 school, which will have space for 485 students.

“On behalf of the board of education, I want to extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Child Care for funding the much-needed elementary school in Kamloops,” Kamloops-Thompson School District Chair Heather Grieve said, in the release.

Located at 1900 Copperhead Drive, the school – and a neighbourhood learning centre, which will be used for programs and services including child care – will be built on 7.8 acres of vacant land owned by SD73, just south of Snowberry Crescent and east of Python Lake in southwest Kamloops.

The province also said the new school will incorporate mass timber in its design, adding it will include greenhouse gas reduction measures that “will reduce emissions by at least 50 per cent than the current LEED Gold Standards.”

The City of Kamloops contracted Acres Enterprise to work on a three-phased extension to Copperhead Drive, with utility extensions and servicing the future Pineview Elementary School site included in the first phase.

In late April, the school board announced Sníne (pronounced SNEE’-na) as the name for the new school.

“This school has been a priority for our district since 2014 due to notable enrolment growth and space pressures in nearby schools,” Grieve added.

“We are proud that Sníne Elementary is the first Secwepemctsín school name in our district, representing one of many important steps in our work towards truth and reconciliation.”

The new Sníne Elementary is set to open its doors in the fall of 2026.

Monday afternoon, the province also said it is giving SD73 $2.1 million for (HVAC) upgrades at Juniper Ridge Elementary, Kamloops School of the Arts, and Sa-Hali Secondary.

It says that money is also meant to help the SD73 buy new school buses.