New schools, gyms planned across Manitoba
The Manitoba government has announced a $94.2 million budget for public school capital projects — its largest such budget ever.
The money will go to building gymnasiums, expanding child-care capacity and planning new schools, including an elementary school in Winnipeg's Amber Trails neighbourhood.
"Our population is growing and we all know the positive effects it has on our economy and communities," Premier Greg Selinger stated in a news release.
The new school is targeted to open in September 2013 and is the first of a series of elementary schools with daycares planned for Winnipeg in the coming years.
A new elementary school is also being planned in Sage Creek with pre-design planning to begin in 2011-12, Selinger said.
This development will begin with a stand-alone child-care facility as part of a new initiative to build more child-care facilities on school division property, Selinger said.
The Public Schools Finance Board and Seven Oaks School Division will also continue to monitor enrolment to determine the need for new school facilities in the Riverbend area.
Work continues on the design and construction of middle schools in the communities of La Broquerie, Schanzenfeld and Steinbach, and high schools in Winkler and Steinbach.
As well, Woodlands School will be replaced with a new facility using sustainable building materials and methods, Selinger said.
"Our success as a province depends on thriving schools in every corner of Manitoba," he said.
The announcement is a drastic change in tone from what the province said just seven months ago.
In September, Seven Oaks School Division officials said they had been appealing to the province to build a new school in Amber Trails because of the population boom.
The pressure was being felt at Leila North Community School, which had 550 children squeezing into a space with a capacity of 350. As a result, makeshift classrooms were set up in the library, computer lab and other resource rooms.
Five new portable classrooms were added to the school for the current academic year.
Asked by CBC News about the division's plea for a new school, Education Minister Nancy Allan said at the time the Seven Oaks division and Amber Trails residents would would have to make due with Leila North and its portables for a few years, at least.
Building an addition to the school or another school in the area is not an option the province can afford, Allen said, noting the government was already building five new schools in rural Manitoba.
