(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

On the waitlist

New school in Melfort on provincial waitlist

Jun 10, 2024 | 1:34 PM

The North East School division remains on a waitlist to build a new school in Melfort.

The division’s plan is to replace Brunswick and Reynolds elementary schools with a new facility. Brunswick was built in 1954, while Reynolds opened in 1962.

Director of Education Stacy Lair told northeastNOW the project remains on a waitlist of provincial capital builds.

“Anywhere from four to seven years is sort of a guess of how long it takes to percolate on that list to come to a planning fruition,” Lair explained.

She said the division has not decided what the school composition will be between the new school, Maude Burke School, and Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC).

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“There will be a new physical building with some kind of grade compilation. We’ve had a little bit of discussion with the SCCs (School Community Councils) from those two schools just to show them the plans and some of the thoughts.”

Lair said the plans are in the very early stages, and the division has also talked with the Maude Burke SCC and heard their concerns about how the school will fit in within the context of having a new facility in Melfort.

She believes the Ministry of Education will favour having one application for a build rather than two, as there are fewer maintenance issues with one building.

“It reduces and finds some efficiencies in that way, and we know that any kind of efficiencies we spend, it all…comes from the same pot and we get to give back to students and classrooms directly, which is where we wanted to be.”

The school division has worked with the city on a potential location for a new school, and Lair said the thought was an area somewhere in a triangle between Reynolds School, MUCC’s football field, and the Kerry Vickar Centre.

Lair said the Ministry of Education would look at enrolment projections for the foreseeable future, the catchment area and perhaps a bit beyond to determine the new facility’s size. The division has had a chance to discuss the new build with neighbouring communities and gather their input as well.

“You plan not for one or two (years), but for 20 or 30 or 50 years down the road. We want to make sure we do a good job of that, and the ministry definitely has processes to make sure that’s taken care of,” said Lair.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK