Funds set aside for new Cree school in Saskatoon
St. Frances among projects in Catholic division to benefit from initial $8.5M
Saskatoon’s Catholic school division will get a long-needed replacement for St. Frances Cree Bilingual School, after funding for the project was set aside in the provincial spending estimates for the upcoming year.
Estimates for the 2020-21 fiscal year were announced on Wednesday in a pared back budget presentation made by the provincial government in light of the COVID -19 pandemic. The government released only an expenditure statement and no revenue projections.
Included in the proposed expenditures is $8.5 million to start planning and design on seven new school buildings and renovate three existing schools in the province. More funding is expected to follow in next year’s budget for construction of these projects.
With the new funding, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools will be able to build a new facility for St. Frances on a larger site. The school has more portables than classrooms and lacks adequate gymnasium, playground and washroom space.
“It’s been just a years-long journey for our families and our partners,” said board chair Diane Boyko. “(Our children) deserve to have a new building, and so we’re just really pleased that St. Frances has been announced.” Last year’s budget provided $250,000 in scope funding for the project.
Aside from St. Frances, Saskatoon’s public division will get a new consolidated elementary school to replace Princess Alexandra, King George and Pleasant Hill elementary schools.
The new city centre school will take the three schools’ combined $68 million in deferred maintenance off the books, said board chair Colleen Macpherson, noting the division had hoped to do the same for schools in Caswell Hill.
“They’re very, very old and they are in need of a lot of work,” she said. “Caswell is getting there, but I think our priority always was the city centre project.”
In Regina, the estimates include funding for a new joint-use public and Catholic elementary school in Harbour Landing, and a new jointuse school that will consolidate St. Peter, St. Michael and Imperial elementary schools into one building.
A new school in Harbour Landing is “an important step for that community, for us to be able to meet the demands of that community in terms of growth,” said board chair Katherine Gagne.
As for the consolidation project, the public division’s priority list had also included Mcdermid Community School. Gagne said she was not sure of the details behind why Mcdermid was no longer included.
The spending plan also includes $500,000 to do a long-term planning and needs analysis for two new high schools, one in east Regina and one in east Saskatoon.
The Saskatoon school, which the public division expects to be a joint facility with the Catholic division and potentially the city, is expected to serve 1,200 to 1,400 students.
Carrot River will also receive money to begin planning a consolidation project of its elementary and high schools.
Schools receiving money for renovations are Yorkton Regional High School, John Paul II Collegiate in North Battleford and Athol Murray College of Notre Dame.
An additional $63.9 million for ongoing school projects in Weyburn, Rosthern, Moose Jaw and Regina were also outlined.
With Leader-post files from Lynn Giesbrecht