B.C.’s Education minister is promising big news in the new year as far as some desperately needed capital investment in the Kamloops Thompson School District.

Rob Fleming says this week’s long range facilities report puts new urgency into capital investments in Kamloops the ministry is looking at making.

Chief among them Fleming says is Valleyview Secondary.

“We got a business case from the district in November. We have had engineers talking to engineers and getting assumptions and getting an accurate cost and contingency estimated. But I know what kids and parents have put up with. They have not had a major school investment for 16 years in that district. We are pretty pleased with where we are after 16 months as the government and we will have something major to announce in the new year.”

Fleming warns though that the costs of the Valleyview project are increasing.

“I can assure you that both the district and the ministry have moved very very fast. These projects are always more complicated than you think. It is not just a matter of adding classrooms it is a major addition to that secondary. It will probably cost a lot more than we originally anticipated because the facility will handle a lot more kids. You have to have flow and you have to have ancillary facilities and all that kind of stuff.”

The district has submitted a business case for both a major addition and a complete replacement.