After Monday night’s meeting on the future of Estevan school facilities, it appears the question is now when it will happen, rather than what will happen or if anything will happen.
The dozens of people who attended the meeting learned about the vision that exists for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division: renovations to the Estevan Comprehensive School to extend the life of the 50-year-old building, the inclusion of Grades 7 and 8 at the school, and a partnership with the City of Estevan and the Estevan Police Service.
The moved to a Grade 7-12 ECS is something that a lot of people have been expecting to hear since Cornerstone announced in late 2018 that is was embarking on a school review process.
Perhaps the bigger revelation, though, would be bringing the Cornerstone and Holy Family school divisions together for a joint-use school that could accommodate about 900 students from kindergarten to Grade 6.
Spruce Ridge School, which opened in 2003, would remain open, but the other existing elementary schools in Estevan would close.
You could definitely hear the murmurs from the audience when that announcement was made.
The latter move could be a tough sell for some people, since Estevan has long been fortunate to have its “neighbourhood schools,” especially in the public school division, which has a school in each of the four quadrants of the city.
People also get really emotional when it comes to their school closing. That emotion extends from students and parents of current students to alumni of those schools.
Someone might have graduated from a school 40 or 50 years ago, but to them, it’s still their school, and the thought of their school being shut down for good is tough to swallow.
But for those who are worried where their school-aged children will go to school in a few years, don’t hit the panic button yet.
This is a very long-term proposal. The school division needs to get the funding commitment from the provincial government for this to proceed. That won’t happen until next year at the earliest. Then the Comp. needs to be renovated and the new school has to be built.
The renovations at the Comp. might be finished in time for kids currently in kindergarten or Grade 1 to attend a new ECS.
If the new kindergarten to Grade 6 mega school does happen, it might will be many years before it is finished.
Nobody denies that work needs to occur to ECS. It’s a 50-year-old school, and while it doesn’t look like a 50-year-old school from the outside, its infrastructure, such as the heating and the roof, are starting to show their age. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and if that work doesn’t occur, then at some point the venerable school will have to be replaced rather than renovated.
It’s worth noting that the City of Estevan and the Estevan Police Service have stepped forward to be partners. The EPS’s involvement would be to have a satellite office at the Comp., a concept that is sure to get people talking.
The city is involved because of a potential partnership on the construction of a new field house concept and a performing arts centre. Many people would rather see a new field house constructed over a third arena in Estevan; this would allow the field house to happen, and likely on a larger scale than what would happen if the city moved forward with it alone.
The performing arts centre has long been a need for our community. Events such as dance recitals, school musicals and even concerts could benefit from such a venue.
As for the future of the elementary schools, with the exception of Spruce Ridge, which opened in 2003, they’re even older than ECS. Each of these five schools has had a renovation, with the most recent at Hillcrest School wrapping up in 2003, but now needs are starting to emerge for those facilities.
The school divisions are seeking the public’s input, and we encourage people to voice their opinions on this. If you think this is the right move and we’re due for a shift towards larger schools, then let them know. If you think Grade 7 and 8 students shouldn’t be in the same building as Grade 12s, let them know.
If you think the four public schools and the two Catholic elementary schools should remain open, regardless of whether they’re K-6 or K-8, then send Cornerstone and Holy Family your feedback.
That doesn’t mean the school boards will change their mind, but if you’re given the opportunity to provide feedback and you don’t jump at it, then that opportunity might not be there again in the future.
It seems like our school facilities are at a crossroads, much like so many other aspects of the community. The changes coming to schools in Estevan appear to be a matter of when, rather than if, but they are definitely for the long-term.
