Vancouver's Lord Tennyson Elementary to be replaced as part of seismic upgrade plan

Vancouver's 106-year-old Lord Tennyson Elementary school will be replaced by a new seismically-safe school by the summer of 2020, the province has announced.

At a news conference Education Minister Mike Bernier and government-appointed Vancouver school trustee Dianne Turner pegged the price tag for replacing the Kitsilano school at $24.5 million.

"It is crucial that we get students in our district into seismically-safe schools as soon as possible," said Turner, a ministry employee who was named to the job of Vancouver school trustee after Bernier fired the entire nine-member elected Vancouver School Board 10 days ago.

Money for Lord Tennyson and 44 other B.C. schools requiring seismic upgrading was previously announced by the provincial government in 2013.

Former VSB chairman Mike Lombardi told CBC News the credit for today's announcement goes to school parents, the engineers and planners working at the seismic project office and the former board.

"Let's make sure we give credit where credit is due ... including the formerly democratically-elected Vancouver school board," he said.

Work on Lord Tennyson is expected to start in 2018. A new school will be built on the existing site before the old school is demolished.