The physical condition of the high school in Porcupine Plain, Sask., is so bad that Ivan Yackel didn’t know where to begin his description.
“It’s one of those schools that, when you see it, outside and in, you say it should’ve been closed a few years ago,” said the director of education for North East School Division, based in Melfort, Sask.
“It’s the worst of all our schools.”
But it won’t be for much longer. The province announced last June it would contribute $8.3 million for a $12.2 million new kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the community of 780 people.
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Earlier this month, as part of an economic booster shot, the province said it would fast-track infrastructure funding to get projects underway sooner.
The government is topping up the $117 million it announced for school capital funding last year with an additional $142 million. A total of 102 schools in 63 communities will be improved, repaired or replaced.
Yackel said the division is ready.
The final drawings are at the education ministry for approval and can soon go to tender. And, the division’s one-third share of the project is in the bank.
“We’re there,” Yackel said. “We don’t have to borrow the money.”
The construction will be on a new site as well, meaning the students won’t be disrupted. When the new building is complete, the old high school will be demolished and the elementary school sold to the town, which intends to relocate its administrative offices there and rent out other space.
There are 135 students in the elementary school and 150 in the high school. Yackel hopes enrolment will remain stable, but closing Porcupine Plain is not an option.
The division closed four schools in the last three years, but because of its location, Porcupine Plain will remain open.
“It’s challenging enough to bus students to Porcupine Plain,” Yackel said, referring to the mixed forest and agricultural geography.
The only worrisome news is the construction cost estimate has climbed to about $15 million.
“We don’t have a really good handle on a number until the tenders come in,” Yackel added.
Porcupine Plain is one of 18 major projects identified last year. New schools will also be built in Humboldt, Regina, Oxbow and Prince Albert. Major renovations will be done in Duck Lake, La Ronge, Maple Creek, Balcarres, Hafford, Elrose, Weyburn, Regina and Saskatoon.
Smaller projects will be undertaken in 28 schools, while 10 others will see new or renovated relocatable classrooms. In seven schools, the projects involve improved accessibility, and in 43 schools the roofs will either be repaired or replaced.
