Wakaw School Changes from Renovate to Rebuild

Nineteen people attended the Wakaw School Community Council’s annual general meeting. Called to order by Returning Officer Kristal Dunville, the agenda was amended and adopted, before the SCC Annual Report and the Financial Report were presented. Two attendees were nominated from the floor to be member representatives on the SCC and fill vacancies left by the expiration of terms. With no other nominations, Ashley Jeffery and Katelynn Hopkins were declared elected by acclamation. The election of officers resulted in Dwane Burke filling the position of Chair, Dawna Funk as Vice Chair, Ashley Elgersma as Secretary, and Katelynn Hopkins as Treasurer. The AGM adjourned at 6:38 pm.

The regular meeting of the SCC followed immediately afterward. Student Representative Belle Standish gave a report on the activities held since the last SCC meeting after which Principal Darryl Dickson gave his report. Mr. Dickson shared that he will not be returning as principal for the 2024-25 school year having accepted a position within the sphere of the Horizon School Division’s Central Office and that Patrick Winand will be returning to Wakaw School as the new principal. Since Mr. Dickson’s arrival at Wakaw School nine years ago, student enrollment has increased by approximately 80 students. With just over 330 students, the school is technically over capacity.

Director of Education, Kevin Garinger, joined the meeting via video link and announced that the Board has concluded that the Wakaw school building, after 65 years of serving the needs of students is at the end of its useful life. In 2023, the Division had Wakaw School on the proposed project list that was submitted to the government for major renovations. However, maintenance and improvements are no longer cost-effective and as a result, the consensus is that a new K-12 school is in order and has been added to the Horizon School Division’s major capital projects list. This does not mean shovels will be in the ground immediately; it means that the Division will submit a request to the Ministry of Education for funding approval for a new school and will continue submitting that request until it is granted. As Principal Dickson noted in his report the school enrollment has just crested the capacity threshold and it is time to begin thinking about what the wants and needs of the community and all stakeholders are. Local trustee, Jenna Hale, encouraged everyone to begin thinking about what a new school could look like, design elements that could be incorporated, and potential joint-use collaborations that could be realized.

Using the construction of the school in Lanigan as an example, once the Government announces that the project will proceed, there is still the planning and design phase to go through before any sod is turned. This typically takes one to two years depending on how organized the stakeholders are, and an average start-to-finish timeline is about three years. The Lanigan project took longer than the usual timeline due to the pandemic and the residual supply chain issues.

The cost of a new school is significant. The Rosthern Community School which replaced the town’s elementary and high schools with space for 400 prekindergarten to Grade 12 students, was reported to have cost $26.5 million. The new school at Lanigan that is nearing completion was also tagged at that $26 million mark.

In preparing a proposal for a new capital build project such as a school, there is much more involved than just putting a name on a list. The school division must have a package to submit which includes engineering reports, facility condition assessments, a list of the current deferred maintenance projects, an overall rating of the facility's condition which is calculated by the Ministry of Education including any health and safety considerations, and any foundation or structural issues with the existing facility. They also consider existing and future enrolments, and grade configurations. Boards of education review and approve these packages for submission on an annual basis and confirm the priority of the projects to be submitted. Projects are scored within the Ministry of Education, and an updated top 10 list of potential projects for education is released each year at budget time along with any new project approvals.

Once projects are given the approval to move forward to the next stage of development by the Ministry, local School Community Councils (SCCs) are asked for their feedback, along with a number of stakeholder groups. Horizon School Division directly engaged members of the local SCCs in Lanigan and Drake in the design development process for the new consolidated school in Lanigan, as an example, and with the announcement made at Wakaw’s SCC meeting, the engagement process has been initiated here also. Students, trustees, and local staff were also directly involved in the design teams from the schools being impacted by the project. During planning, the division planners are encouraged to find operational efficiencies in the projects through community partnerships with regional colleges, libraries, daycares, etc.

Construction began on the current Wakaw School in 1959 as the increased student population could not be sufficiently housed in the previous facility and local families had been waiting for a new school for many years. In the 1959-60 school year, when school enrollment jumped to 345 students after the closure of schools in the Sokal, Lone Pine, Ens, and Dunafoldvar districts, students were housed in three separate locations while a new high school was being constructed. On Sunday, October 16, 1960, nearly 400 people attended the official opening of the Wakaw High School. The school has seen many young feet come through its doors and ultimately walk across the stage at the end of twelve years as they move on to future careers.

The construction of a new school could still be several years away, but the announcement on Monday, April 29th assures all stakeholders that the Division knows a new school is needed and it is now in the hands of the government to decide when it will come to fruition.

Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder