Schuler School shovel-ready

By Tim Kalinowski
The Prairie Rose School Division has accepted a bid of over $6 million from Medicine Hat firm Amron Construction Ltd. to build the new Schuler School and demolish the old building. Amron submitted the lowest bid to do the work of the five companies which applied for the contract. The bid was accepted at last Tuesday’s PRSD board meeting in Dunmore.
The final total bid of $6,048,027 also included a contingency fund of $169,746 to cover any potential cost overruns.
The new Schuler School will be state-of-the-art, using the latest in e-learning tools and resources. The new building will also feature moveable glass walls which will allow teachers to set up temporary work spaces for specific projects, a large commons room and an abundance of natural light. A $1 million donation from the Drowning Ford Grazing Association expanded the planned scope of the school to include a larger gym, a community kitchen and public meeting room.
The original budget for the construction of the new Schuler School was $4 million. With the Drowning Ford donation the school has now procured $5 million total for construction, leaving the division short over a million dollars from the lowest bid.
The PRSD plans to apply for supplementary grants from the provincial government to help offset the demolition and hazardous materials disposal cost for the old school to make up some of those funds.  If those additional grants are not approved the division will like have to look at raising funds through donations and third party contributors.