(File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Concerns

NESD Director of Education concerned school consolidation plans are on back burner

May 27, 2025 | 12:00 PM

The Director of Education for the North East School Division is expressing concern there are no immediate plans for the replacement of Brunswick and Reynolds schools in Melfort.

The division’s plan was to build a new school that would replace the two facilities, and Stacy Lair said the consolidation project was on the top 10 list of capital projects until recently.

“We did see that school removed from that particular listing,” Lair told northeastNOW.

Lair said there is some frustration that the building was seen as a provincial priority due to the age and condition of the facilities. Not seeing that consolidation on the ‘shortlist’ has meant the division had to alter their capital maintenance and renewal plan.

“Since it’s gone, when might we expect it to return because there were some, and always are, some projects that are significant and a source of some of the dollar flow that we need in those buildings,” Lair said. “Since they were on the list, we were looking forward to a complete capital rebuild in that regard and now that isn’t going to come to fruition in the next several years.”

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Both Brunswick and Reynolds schools have had to be added back in to the preventative maintenance dollars to make sure the facilities are properly maintained.

“That’s a difficulty for us too and a bit of a frustration – I would say that there’s a disappointment in that regard with the removal of that build from the top 10 provincial list.”

A northeastNOW request for an interview regarding the consolidation project was met with a short statement via email that seemed to indicate the province hasn’t forgotten about the consolidation project.

“The North East School Division has submitted a major capital request to consolidate Brunswick School and Reynolds Central School in Melfort. The request will be considered with all other capital requests received for 2026-27. The Ministry of Education continues to work with school division (sic) on their capital priorities,” the statement read.

For the 2025-26 school year, the North East School Division has outlned $2.628 million worth of maintenance and renewal projects. Those include a $1.4 million roof replacement at White Fox School, an $800,000 replacement of the heating units in the shop areas at Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC), and a $155,000 project to replace the exterior doors and frames at L.P. Miller School in Nipawin.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com