PRSD looking for larger facility for RMAP

One Prairie Rose School Division (PRSD) school is needing to relocate while others are in need of some major renovations and upgrades. A possible relocation of Redcliff ’s RMAP school and infrastructure projects itemized in the three-year capital plan were highlighted at the PRSD trustee meeting on March 12.

RMAP relocation

RMAP (Redcliff Mennonite Alternative Program) is bursting at the seams and PRSD officials are looking at other options for housing the successful program.

They have been housed in their current location since the fall of 2014, having operated out of I.F. Cox School the year prior.

The building which used to be the Redcliff RCMP detachment was renovated to accommodate a school facility. Still, in just a few short years, the facility is no longer suitable for its 86 students.

“There is no gymnasium, no playground, and it doesn’t have proper washrooms,” said superintendent Roger Clarke.

There is no other suitable alternative in Redcliff, but Clarke noted that the Medicine Hat Catholic School Board has space in its St. Thomas d’Aquin School which closed in 2018 after a new school was built in the MHCSB division.

Representatives from PRSD have toured the site which consists of seven classrooms, a library, a gymnasium, and has ample playground space.

“We want them to have a proper school to go to and this could become a magnet school for Mennonite students,” said Clarke, adding that he has been receiving very positive feedback from parents of RMAP students.

Ryan Boser, PRSD secretary-treasurer told trustees they would also be meeting with the City of Medicine Hat to discuss a joint-use agreement as other organizations use the facility after-hours should the relocation possibility become a reality.

PRSD trustees voted in favour of the motion to relocate RMAP to St. Thomas d-Aquin. This decision goes back to MHCSB for the final approval.

Three-year Capital Plan

The addition and modernization for Burdett School remains at the top of the priority list in the PRSD capital plan.

In his report to trustees, Darrell Drefs, director of maintenance operations, indicated that the key project drivers of the project include health and safety, functionality and programming, and building condition.

“With no air handling units, indoor air quality tests although well within the safe range, have shown levels rated as poor,” reads his report. “Hazard assessment studies have recommended the abatement of various building components and a complete mechanical system upgrade is required.”

The school also has no CTF (Career and Technology Foundations) space, limiting the programming available to the students.

The estimated cost of the addition and modernization is $2,221,772.

A new Redcliff Middle School is second on the priority list. The new school is being planned for the Town’s Eastside development, with another option being considered on the Margaret Wooding site, allowing for the sharing of playgrounds and transportation costs.

The new school is necessary to meet the continued population growth in the community. The current estimated cost of the project is $13,959,000.

Other projects included in the capital plan include:

-Parkside School modernization: $2,706,448

-South Central High School: $4,094,253 -Foremost School: 48,120,171

“It won’t be too far down the road when Projects 3 (Parkside), 4 (South Central), and 5 (Foremost) move further up the list,” said chair Stuart Angle.