Classroom rejuvenation, sidewalk repairs and roofing improvements are some projects that Holy Trinity Catholic School Division has planned for the near future as part of its nearly $3 million renewal list.
During their recent board meeting, trustees approved the division’s preventative maintenance and renewal (PMR) plan for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, with a total spending of $2,837,000.
2025-26
Projects the division intends to pursue in 2025-26 include:
- St. Agnes: $226,000 for classroom rejuvenation and moving the administration office to the lower level
- St. Michael: $226,000 for new forced air furnaces, repairing the cinder block exterior and classroom rejuvenation
- Vanier: $271,000 for classroom rejuvenation, library renovations, rooftop heating and cooling unit replacements and paving the bottom of Henleaze Avenue
- Christ the King, Shaunavon: $30,000 to replace windows
- All schools: $66,000 for asbestos abatement and IT upgrades
The total cost is $819,000.
2026-27
Projects the division intends to pursue in 2026-27 include:
- St. Agnes: $26,000 for classroom rejuvenation
- St. Michael: $426,000 for paving the parking lot and repaving the catch basins around the building
- Vanier: $371,000 for rooftop unit replacements, staff lot paving, Sion Hall flooring, classroom rejuvenation and Industrial Arts room repairs
- Christ the King: $65,000 for replacing asphalt and upgrading the play structure’s base
- All schools: $66,000 for asbestos abatement and IT upgrades
The total cost is $954,000.
2027-28
Projects the division intends to pursue in 2027-28 include:
- St. Agnes: $96,000 for classroom rejuvenation, pneumatic conversions and roof replacement
- St. Michael: $526,000 for metal cladding and insulation
- Vanier: $201,000 for rooftop unit replacements
- All Saints, Swift Current: $155,000 for landscaping and grass
- Christ the King: $20,000 for building automation system upgrades
- All schools: $66,000 for asbestos abatement and IT upgrades
The total cost is $1,064,000.
The three-year plan includes spending of $1,178,000 for St. Michael School, with Holy Trinity hoping that the Ministry of Education approves its minor capital project application to renovate the school, Matt Heisler, buildings manager, told the board.
Heisler noted that he isn’t waiting for the ministry to provide funding — Holy Trinity has been applying since 2013 — and has divided the project into smaller pieces that the division can pursue in stages instead of waiting for approval that may take another 10 years.
“… we (can) start to modernize that school to protect that asset,” he remarked.
Heisler was unsure if the division would have to use PMR funds for the St. Michael School project, but to be safe, he asked for $7 million in the application instead of $4 million.
Administration hopes that once the St. Margaret and joint-use school projects are completed, the division will have more money for other projects since funding won’t be wrapped up in those two initiatives, Heisler added.
Some projects are just “placeholders” because if an emergent infrastructure issue — a roof caves in — arises, the division will have to bump projects to a later year, said education director Ward Strueby. The ministry used to have an emergency fund that school divisions could access, but it eliminated that after introducing the minor capital fund.
“Definitely, if we had one of those (funds), we would still work with our local MLAs and with the government to help us out with those pieces like we’ve done in the past … ,” he added.
A contractor inspects three school roofs annually, which means all nine schools are reviewed every three years, and administration can schedule maintenance, said Heisler.
In 2011, the contractor determined that 35.5 per cent of school roofs required repairs, while that number fell to 2.8 per cent this year, he added. The contractor also said that Holy Trinity has the third-best maintained roofs in the province.
Trustee Derek Hansen liked how the division was rejuvenating classrooms even with the financial pressures of the St. Margaret project. He thought that refreshed rooms prevented schools from looking “old and tired” and boosted the morale of students, staff and families.
“I appreciate the balance that is done between functional and aesthetics (because) aesthetics matter,” he added.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Aug. 19.
