PRSD trustees discuss capital plan

By Carlie Connolly
On April 14, Prairie Rose School Division trustees discussed their three-year capital plan (2016-2019). Ryan Boser, Secretary treasurer for the division said that in the plan, Eagle Butte remains at number one in terms of priority, and it will stay there until they get official approval that the project will continue.
A value management analysis for Eagle Butte was completed, and estimated costs for modernization are now $6.2 million, which is down from the previous estimate of $8.3 million listed in last year’s plan. The work would include a new CTF lab, the renovation of existing space and creating a learning commons space.
Second on the capital plan was Burdett School, with a possible addition. The third on the list is modernization of Warren Peers School, and fourth is a new middle school in Redcliff, a 350-student school for grades 6-9, which will be in a new subdivision within Redcliff.
One of the big parts of the capital plan was the addition of Foremost to the list as number five. The other four schools have remained in the same priority as seen in other capital plans.
The total value of all five projects is estimated at $25.7 million.
Burdett School is estimated to be around $1 million plus an addition. For Warren Peers, $634,000 was needed to modernize the school.
The new middle school in Redcliff is estimated just under $14 million.
The fifth on the list, Foremost School is estimated to cost around $3.9 million. This is due to right-sizing, roofing, HVAC and electrical work along with some new finishes to be done throughout the building. Brian Andjelic, superintendent of schools discussed each project to the board
For Burdett school, Andjelic said that they have gone from over many years of almost closing the school to it being really crowded. He also said it’s a school that’s badly in need of modernization, upgrading and HVAC.
Warren Peers school is another interesting project, Andjelic said. Money had been spent to repair the basement of the school due to overland flooding that occurred in 2010-2011, and it is now fully functional. Andjelic said that if the school were to be right-sized, what areas would be closed, he said, as there was a lot of money put into repairing the basement.
As for the Redcliff School, land is available for the new school building and if it were approved, Andjelic said that conversations would have to take place about things like demographics of the students.
Foremost School upgrades would also be of interest, as there is a low utilization rate at the school and it would have to be right-sized.
The capital plan was approved as presented.