Holy Trinity Catholic School Division faces major budget constraints with upgrading schools during the next two years because of its focus on renovating École St. Margaret School.
Division administration presented a three-year buildings maintenance plan during the recent board meeting, with the document listing proposed projects from 2023-24 to 2025-26 that address outstanding health and safety concerns in schools and potential emergent needs.
The plan proposes spending $3,771,500 during that period, including $197,000 in 2023-24, $1,526,000 in 2024-25 and $2,048,500 in 2025-26.
In comparison, the division spent $766,170 on building renovations during the 2022-23 school year.
“Once again … we are experiencing the impact of having the minor capital program of St. Margaret impact this plan as well,” said CFO Curt Van Parys. “And really, in terms of significant or new initiatives, it’s really a bare-bones approach in terms of what we would be able to accommodate in our schools over the next two years.
“… we plan to get to more of a normal state in the ’25-26 year in terms of planned expenditures in support of our facilities.”
The St. Margaret project is expected to cost $6.6 million, with the province committing $4 million. This leaves Holy Trinity to cover $2.6 million using funds from its Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) account.
Thus, there is less money for upgrading other schools and a pause on the classroom refreshment program.
2023-24
Holy Trinity has no plans this school year to upgrade All Saints in Swift Current or Sacred Heart, St. Mary, St. Agnes and Phoenix Academy in Moose Jaw, the report showed. In comparison, the division spent $117,793 in 2022-23 to improve these venues.
Meanwhile, this year, the division does plan to spend:
- $105,000 at St. Margaret
- $7,000 at St. Michael
- $40,000 at Vanier Collegiate
- $20,000 at Christ the King (Shaunavon)
- $25,000 at the division office
Van Parys noted that the division has delayed until 2025-26 office renovations at St. Agnes because of concerns with its proposed location and major repairs at Vanier. Meanwhile, administration may have to apply to the province’s minor capital program for renos at St. Michael School.
The division produced a study a decade ago that said upgrades there would cost roughly $3.2 million, but that has doubled to roughly $7 million, he said. Therefore, administration will bring an application to a future board meeting for a minor capital project at St. Michael.
“… we think that, based on the state of the facility, it’s the next one in the queue in terms of getting that type of work done,” Van Parys remarked.
The CFO added that the division has submitted the St. Michael project several times through the province’s major capital program for a new school in West Park. However, the Ministry of Education has never picked it even though it has regularly sat second or third on the list; the St. Margaret project was on that list for a decade.
2024-25
The division has no plans in 2024-25 to upgrade All Saints, Sacred Heart, St. Mary, St. Michael, Phoenix Academy or the division office, the report showed.
Meanwhile, the division plans to spend:
- $1.1 million at St. Margaret
- $5,000 at St. Agnes
- $120,000 at Vanier
- $301,000 at Christ the King
2025-26
The division has no plans in 2025-26 to upgrade Sacred Heart or St. Mary because the new joint-use school is expected to open that year, which will see the closure of those buildings.
Meanwhile, the division plans to spend:
- $100,000 at All Saints
- $185,000 at St. Agnes
- $35,000 at St. Margaret
- $886,000 at St. Michael for washroom upgrades, electrical plugins for the staff parking lot, paving that lot, replacing air furnaces, drainage diversion, exterior concrete restoration, exterior envelope upgrades and rain spout replacements
- $620,000 at Vanier for paving the student parking lot, repointing bricks and concrete, making washrooms gender neutral, continued library upgrades, improving the home ec room and reviewing that program/curriculum, upgrading the main entrance, renos to the art room, replacing roof sections and upgrades to the HVAC system
- $185,000 at Christ the King
- $9,000 at Phoenix Academy
- $28,500 at the division office
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Dec. 18.
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