After being “totally blindsided” by the news that the joint-use school would be constructed in the Westheath neighbourhood, city administration expressed disappointment to both school divisions about the decision.
“It is unfortunate that the city was never formally notified or consulted that this was the favoured site for the proposed new school,” city manager Jim Puffalt wrote in a letter on Oct. 16, 2019, to Prairie South School Division (PSSD) and Holy Trinity Catholic School Division.
“The fact that there was no formal communication between the school divisions and the city, as the landowner, regarding this location prior to the public announcement (on Sept. 24) is regrettable.”
The municipality committed publicly to the site’s design as a residential subdivision in 2018 after city council approved a concept plan for the area, Puffalt continued. The school divisions’ announcement was a contradiction of city council’s decisions, while the public communication issue this posed “is apparent and does not need to be stated.”
The consultant whom the divisions hired to complete a study for the best location did not contact city hall about servicing requirements, while the study did not mention that the land was already designated for future residential use, he said. Apart from the lack of communication and “total surprise” of the announcement, there were four issues with the site:
- City hall had spent $300,000 and nearly three years on the site’s design, with tender drawings for construction and landscape design in progress
- The area was intended as the next residential development; a new school affected the city’s ability to receive net revenue of $2.1 million in lot sales
- There is no servicing — roads or utilities — to the site, which means the Ministry of Education would have to pay those costs as the developer
- The proposed site was not a dedicated municipal reserve but was zoned for residential development. The Coteau Street West site was a dedicated municipal reserve and had been set aside for the school
The Moose Jaw Express submitted an access to information (AOI) request to city hall on July 29, 2020, asking for all communications between the City of Moose Jaw and both school divisions and the Ministry of Education about the proposed joint-use school on South Hill. After four months, the municipality sent the documents on Dec. 2.
All the information for these stories comes strictly from the emails that were provided.
'Common interests moving forward'
Tony Baldwin, education director for PSSD, and Sean Chase, education director with Holy Trinity, sent a joint email on Oct. 23, 2019, to several municipal and educational officials offering an apology for the lack of communication.
“I’m sorry that our process has added challenges for your staff or for city council — we certainly want the opportunity of a new school to be positive for all involved and to honour the work and vision of the City of Moose Jaw,” the email said.
The education directors offered to meet with Puffalt and other members of city administration to “discuss common interests moving forward.” The directors suggested that the new school steering committee members also be included, including Kyle Toffan from SaskBuilds, Phil Pearson from the Ministry of Education and Mike Sazynski, vice-president Colliers International.
During a meeting in September with members of city administration, the directors were told they needed to submit a proposal that city hall could review to make a recommendation to city council, the email said. The directors were prepared to talk about the proposal’s framework while providing something more formal later.
“We are trying to position Moose Jaw favourably in light of a parallel project that is happening in Regina,” the email added, “and we hope to see both school divisions, the Ministry of Education and the City of Moose Jaw as champions of the new school.”
