Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

New school for Amber Trails

By: Nick Martin

Posted: 04/5/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

JANEK LOWE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

Fast-growing Amber Trails is the big winner in new school construction.

Amber Trails will get a $24-million kindergarten to Grade 8 school as the Winnipeg suburb was the big winner in the province's $69.2-million new school construction funding plans unveiled Monday.

Premier Greg Selinger announced there will be an additional $19.2 million to this year's capital budget -- extra money added to the $75 million already committed in 2009 to a four-year, $300-million capital package.

And there will be $50 million spread over five years to build at least 10 new school gyms beginning next year.

The booming Amber Trails neighbourhood in northwest Winnipeg wasn't the only suburb to get good news Monday.

The province will acquire school sites in both Sage Creek and Waverley West, so homebuyers know a school will be built, Selinger said. They just won't know when.

Selinger said the government will formalize the recent practice of including a daycare centre in every new school.

"All new schools will be required to have a daycare," Selinger said. He made the announcement at Shaftesbury High School, which is getting a new library.

The Seven Oaks School Division has by far Manitoba's largest growth in enrolment this year, a gain of 463 students. The division has asked for new schools in Amber Trails and Riverbend and the announcement means the area's new school will be open in 2013.

"The schools are bulging out there," Selinger said.

The premier said that the bulk of the $94.2 million in this year's capital budget will be pumped into previously announced projects, including a second high school for both Winkler and Steinbach, the replacement of Woodlands School and new middle schools in La Broquerie, Schanzenfeld, and Steinbach.

Selinger said new school gyms for Queenston and George V elementary schools in the Winnipeg School Division will be part of the capital budget -- not the new school gyms project -- and timing for those projects will be announced by the public schools finance board (PSFB).

"The first priority is Queenston School," Selinger said.

The $50 million for gyms is a new program through the Active Schools Fund, and the PSFB will sift through requests and make the call on what gets built and when, he said.

The province expects it can build at least 10 gyms over five years, Selinger said. "Each facility is going to have a different requirement for a gym," Selinger said in explaining why it's not a simple matter of allocating $5 million to each of 10 projects.

Kelvin High School is also on the list to be considered.

Selinger said that the province is buying school sites in Sage Creek and Waverley West because development has gobbled up some proposed suburban school sites

Construction of a daycare starts in Sage Creek next year, along with pre-planning for an elementary school.

"Sage Creek is a couple of years away" for any construction start, said PSFB executive director Rick Dedi. He said suburban schools need to see 400 to 500 children living in the neighbourhood before building them can be justified.

"Child cares are a natural fit," said Dedi, adding each school-based daycare will have 54 to 70 spaces.

Dedi would not speculate on which school gyms might be built in which order, or when the first projects would be announced. "We'll be developing a priority list," he said.

The province is also spending $20 million over two years on older schools' air quality and mechanical systems, roofing, and other structural repairs, and $3 million to improve disabled access to schools.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 5, 2011 A7

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.