Some trustees with Prairie South School Division (PSSD) are concerned that clauses in an agreement related to the proposed joint-use school on South Hill could be used to derail the project.
PSSD, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School Division, the Ministry of Education and the City of Moose Jaw signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in September, identifying Westheath as the proposed location 1,000-student school. All four parties made a public announcement about the project on Sept. 17 during a press conference near the site.
Division administration with PSSD provided an update about the project during the recent board meeting. One notable update is that due to slow negotiations early on, the project schedule has been pushed back and both school divisions expect to transition into the building by May 2024 instead of September 2023. However, the project steering committee will pursue options that could get scheduling back on track.
Board discussion
Moose Jaw trustee Shawn Davidson was worried about a clause in the MOU that said if the municipality determines a traffic impact assessment (TIA) is unfavourable, and the parties do not agree on a mitigation strategy, “then the project shall terminate and this memorandum of understanding shall be null and void.”
“Terminate is some pretty strong language. I am concerned about that language being included in there and us signing on,” he said, while wondering if the division office and its partners had devised any contingency plans.
“Terminate: what does that mean? Will we have a school on South Hill? What is plan B?” Davidson added.
That is strong language, but it is language that the municipality asked to be included in the MOU, said board chair Robert Bachmann. However, the ministry has assured the school divisions that it would find a mitigation strategy to satisfy city hall if the project terminates.
“I know that’s not a guarantee that the city would feel that way, but our partners from the ministry were very positive that there would not be such a reality that would occur,” he added.
Moose Jaw trustee Jan Radwanski pointed to another clause that guaranteed 10 acres for the school site. He pointed out that that amount of land is 30 per cent smaller in size than the combined area of Sacred Heart and Westmount schools — which the new school will replace — even though the student population at the new school will likely increase by 200 per cent.
There will also be 125 parking spots for the new building.
“So I would think that traffic is a major, major safety concern here,” he said, adding the termination clause might affect the location and not the project itself.
A section in the MOU talks about the school location and proposed development concept plans “and other events” connected to a new school at Westheath, explained education director Tony Baldwin. The document does not consider not building the school; however, the four parties are working with the contractor who developed the initial Westheath concept plan for the municipality.
The contractor is also performing the TIA, and part of that assessment will include a revised concept for Westheath that will replace the city’s initial concept.
“So I think what the memorandum of understanding is saying is that that revision of the concept plan would end at the discretion of the city in the event we got there,” Baldwin added.
It would be great to learn how big the playground will be, while also factoring in the school building, parking lot and pick-up zone, said Radwanski. A playground will be important in a post-pandemic recovery period.
Davidson piped up and said that 10 acres (four hectares) is 435,600 square feet (3,920 square metres), and since the parking lot will be two acres or 87,120 square feet, that should indicate how big the school and playground could be.
The next school board meeting is in early November.
