With 27 school divisions in Saskatchewan, it could be difficult for Moose Jaw’s Catholic division to acquire the proper funding to pursue two major capital projects in the coming years.
Holy Trinity Catholic School Division needs at least $3 million to renovate the exterior of St. Margaret School and replace six portable classrooms with either new units or one larger building with six classrooms, while it requires more than $20 million to build a new St. Michael School in the West Park neighbourhood.
The deadline to submit the 2022-23 capital projects application is Friday, Feb. 26. The division office has indicated to the Ministry of Education that the St. Margaret project is the main priority while a new St. Michael building is secondary.
Trustees with the Catholic board of education discussed the projects during their February meeting.
“They have been on record for a number of years (since about 2013),” Sandy Gessner, chief financial officer, said during the online meeting. “As we know, we received a capital project for Moose Jaw — the joint-use school on South Hill with Prairie South — and that kept the other two projects (delayed for years) … .”
While St. Margaret requires exterior renovations, almost five acres of land is needed for a new St. Michael School, she continued. The division could renovate, but that would cost around $13 million, so “it would be more feasible” to replace the school instead.
Trustee Alison Bradish wondered if the division office was confident about receiving the funding it requested, while she also inquired about what type of new addition St. Margaret required.
It’s impossible to say what Holy Trinity could receive for either project since the ministry has to prioritize the hundreds of applications it receives from other divisions every year, answered Gessner, who noted the South Hill project was on the list for years before it was approved.
Holy Trinity’s proposed projects will go into a queue, while the ministry will then use a formula to determine which project from which division should be No. 1.
“We are not proceeding as if we have approval, but we hope to get approval,” she said.
As for St. Margaret School, Gessner added that the school would be better served with six new classrooms inside one larger building versus installing six new portables.
The board shouldn’t hold its breath for a new St. Michael building considering a new joint-use school is coming in 2024, echoed trustee Derek Hassen. The ministry will likely eliminate the request quickly and prioritize other provincial projects.
As for St. Margaret, however, time is against the continued use of those portables, he continued. The former board chair wondered if Moose Jaw’s two MLAs understood this project’s importance and lobbying the ministry for it.
“This application is not frivolous, in any way, shape or form. This, very soon, will have to be a priority (and will become) an emergent need in this division,” Hassen added.
The board office has done everything it can to make Moose Jaw’s MLAs aware of the issues there, replied Gessner. Division administration has spoken for several years about this project, while it has also addressed the urgency in the application process.
“I think our advocacy has hit the limit of what we can do right now,” said education director Sean Chase. In the meantime, the division’s buildings team is looking at “some creative solutions” to address the issues at St. Margaret.
Chase added that the division would drag ministry officials to that school to review it the next time they are in Moose Jaw for the South Hill project.
