Board seeks second school in Harbour Landing
With enrolment growing, public division seeks 2019-20 provincial budget funding
Though it opened a new school in Harbour Landing just six months ago, the Regina Public School Division is asking the provincial government for money to build a second school in the neighbourhood.
With enrolment projected to climb to 2,101 students by 2027, the school board voted Tuesday to prioritize a new Harbour Landing school in its annual capital funding request to the ministry of education.
“We believe that we have capacity to handle the growth for next year, but after that it’ll become more problematic, so that’s why this project has moved up the list,” said director of education Greg Enion.
Mark Whiting, division supervisor for policy, planning and research, said a new Harbour Landing school is a “necessity.”
The first-year school is already over capacity, with 658 students enrolled.
With the maximum eight relocatables already installed, the school was designed to accommodate 650 students.
By 2020, Ecole Harbour Landing School is projected to have more than 1,000 students enrolled.
The division’s No. 2 and 3 priorities are a rebuild of Imperial and McDermid schools, and Athabasca and Argyle schools, in joint applications with the Regina Catholic School Division.
Last year’s third priority, a rebuild of Glen Elm School, has fallen out of the top three.
The new plan got a mixed response from school board trustees.
“I feel like dancing,” said trustee Adam Hicks, whose Subdivision 3 includes the Harbour Landing area. “The events that I go to, I can’t believe how many kids are packed in that building.”
Subdivision 4 trustee Cindy Anderson was less than pleased.
“I’m not dancing. … Because of the closure of Haultain (in 2012), Glen Elm was supposed to be a rebuild,” said Anderson, who appeared to twiddle her thumbs as her fellow trustees voted in favour of the new priorities suggested by Whiting.
The previous top request being bumped to second place also frustrates Anderson, as those Imperial and McDermid schools are in her purview.
“The school is a white elephant. … It’s one of those things I think that as a board we need to advocate for this sooner rather than later. This is eight years going on and I’m still not anywhere closer,” said Anderson.
She questioned whether programming could be adjusted in Harbour Landing to reduce the school’s enrolment: Per the 2027 projections, 519 of the 2,101 students would be in French Immersion.
The division’s request is for funding in the provincial 2019-20 budget. If funding were awarded, a new school could open for fall 2022or2023.
Whiting said that, at this point, a new Harbour Landing school is not a joint request with the Regina Catholic School Division.
The current Harbour Landing school shares a building with the Catholic Ecole St. Kateri Tekakwitha School.
The provincial government announced $635 million for 18 jointuse schools in December 2015; the schools opened in September 2017. Funding worked out to $35.27 million per school.