Board Told New School's Scheduled Completion Date Once Again In Jeopardy

By Robert Thomas

There is another red flag being thrown up in a very important issue for the city and this time it is not COVID - 19 related but rather it is the scheduled completion date of the proposed joint use school on South Hill.

The joint use school will see the closure of four elementary schools on South Hill - Empire School, Westmount School, St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart - and move all students into a single facility. The proposed location is in vacant land in the Westheath neighbourhood at the intersection of Wellington Drive and Spadina Drive.

In the project’s monthly status report to the board of the Prairie South School Division (PSSD) the scheduled completion of the project - January 24, 2024 - has been red flagged that there is a risk of the project being completed on schedule. A red flag which has a potential of a further completion date delay on the project.

Additionally the status report yellow flags three other areas - overall status, scope and budget.

Project Dashboard shows none of the major areas of the proposed South Hill joint use school are on track- SOURCE Prairie South School Division

“This is a process that has been very, very slow in its evolution,” PSSD director of education Tony Baldwin told the Board at their April monthly meeting on April 6th.

“You can see from the red dot denoting we are significantly worried about the schedule and we have already moved our opening date back once,” Baldwin said.

The superintendent termed the entire process as “a little challenging for me” as other schools announced the same time as the proposed joint use school on South Hill are already being built and there has yet to be any site work done on the proposed site.

The report lays the responsibility for the slow process squarely on the shoulders of the City of Moose Jaw for the delays in site acquisition and the municipal approval process.

Although the report is dated for February it indicates the public consultation process was due for steering committee approval by March 31st. The report does not include if the steering committee had finalized their approval of the public consultation process package.

At PSSD’s regular February board meeting former PSSD trustee Jan Radwanski asked for the Board to allow a review of the entire school project. Radwanski was told by PSSD board chair Robert Bachmann that they would get back to Radwanski with further details about the review process.

On the area of scope there is a yellow flag in the report where it reads “the entire scope of roads and underground services is yet to be confirmed” due to the expanded Memorandum Of Understanding with the City Of Moose Jaw.

Premier Scott Moe announces new joint use school for South Hill this past September - MJ Independent file photo

At the September announcement of the proposed school Premier Scott Moe stated cooperation was key to the new school’s success.

Mayor Fraser Tolmie when asked at the same announcement by MJ Independent if there were any foreseen problems with underground utilities - sewer and water “there are no servicing issues that we are aware of. And quite honestly we are looking forward to moving forward in this project. We have a Memorandum of Understanding that we are working on.”

Despite the delays and having to set the schedule for the school’s completion back by four months and potentially more Baldwin was still optimistic.

“It is a little challenging for me. The other schools announced the same time as our school was announced are being built. So it is a little challenging we are a little far behind in the process. But you know sometimes good things take time,” Baldwin told the PSSD board.

Although the final public consultation process has not been made public Baldwin is likewise hopeful the entire review can be completed this spring allowing “some work to happen at our school site in the not so distant future.”

In the 2021 - 2022 provincial budget released this past Tuesday, April 6th, funds are committed to the joint use school in Moose Jaw.

SEE RELATED BACKGROUND COMMENTARY - South Hill School Of Politics