A trustee with the Prairie South School Division (PSSD) attempted to stall progress on the proposed joint-use school on South Hill since he thought there had not been enough public consultation.
Jan Radwanski — a trustee for the City of Moose Jaw — put forward motion to have the school division ask the Ministry of Education to complete a feasibility study as part of the site selection process for the proposed building. If that analysis did not support a joint-use school, then Radwanski thought the next steps should be reviewed, including building single-use schools on existing sites.
The board voted 9-1 against the motion, with Radwanski the only one in favour.
The boards of education for Prairie South and Holy Trinity Catholic school divisions announced on Sept. 24 that they had chosen the Westheath area as the preferred new school location.
Acquisition negotiations between the divisions and the City of Moose Jaw for about 10 acres of land at Westheath are underway.
Motion background
One positive of this request would be that a ministry-led analysis could provide additional confirmation of the findings of an engineering report about the proposed Westheath site, the motion suggested.
However, the motion also suggested such a study would be unlikely to provide additional insight since representatives from the deputy minister’s office, the education infrastructure branch and SaskBuilds have been involved in the process with the engineering firm.
Furthermore, additional study may threaten timelines as both boards of education move forward with the new school. The Ministry of Education is also unlikely to change course and construct single-use buildings.
Discussion
The process to build a joint-use school has been challenging, Radwanski said. Recently in Regina, a new joint-use building for Argyle and St. Pius elementary schools hit a roadblock since the community was concerned about the proposed location.
“As a board, to say South Hill residents have spoken is not accurate … ,” he said. “We have not made a bona fide attempt to gauge the pulse of the community, to ask surrounding landowners to see whether or not that Westheath site off Glendale is suitable for a 1,000-person school.”
There is plenty of before- and after-school programming at the two public schools, along with many students with intensive needs, Radwanski continued. To go from two principals and vice-principals down to one of each would be a disservice to students and families. Also, of the 1,000 projected students, a study has suggested 700 students would need to be bussed to the location.
This motion would also allow Prairie South to potentially keep a single-use school in operation and reuse an existing gym building while also having a playground, recreation amenities, sidewalks, smooth traffic flows, and not be “snuggled up in the corner of southwest Moose Jaw” where so few students live, he said.
This debate is an attempt to turn back the clock on this issue by nearly three years, especially since Radwanski has been opposed to a new location since Day 1, said Moose Jaw trustee Tim McLeod.
The board has had many public and private meetings on this issue, McLeod continued. However, Radwanski has chosen not to attend all the meetings where the documentation was reviewed.
“We have heard very clearly from the public that they are in favour of a joint-use facility. They’ve (given) feedback and input into what that might look like and where that might be,” McLeod added.
Although the Westheath site was not proposed originally, it became the most suitable location since there was no concern with it being near railroad tracks or the rail yard, said Shawn Davidson, trustee for subdivision 5.
Comparing what’s happening in Moose Jaw to Regina is also misplaced and misguided, he added, since there has been strong lobbying from the St. Pius School community to keep the building. There has been no similar lobbying from residents here; instead, the attitude has been “to just get it built.”
The next PSSD board meeting is Oct. 22.
