BONNYVILLE - Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) is disappointed with the progress made to the modernization of Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS).
“It’s definitely slower than we had anticipated. We’ve had students out of the facility for a whole semester before this project has actually gone to tender," NLPS board chair Arlene Hrynyk told the Nouvelle.
Earlier this week, the school division released a letter to the public expressing their dismay with the Government of Alberta over the lack of work done on BCHS so far.
At this point, construction hasn't even started, with the project just going to tender recently.
According to Hrynyk, the province is in the second phase of their two-step process.
"The first is request for qualifications, so they go through that process and determine who meets those qualifications. The next step is the tender, and that’s all we have.”
In the interim, BCHS students are using a makeshift space at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre, an agreement they struck with Alberta Infrastructure prior to the start of this school year.
“Students absolutely love it. Certainly we had to iron out some glitches in respect to sound and so forth,” noted Hrynyk.
According to NLPS’ letter to the public, they had only included the 2019/20 school year in the agreement. Their stay may need to be extended while NLPS waits for construction to not only start, but also wrap-up.
Part of asking for an extension to their temporary home will be requesting the province cover the cost of the relocation “above and beyond” what has been set aside for the modernization.
“We know the government has limited resources, but we don’t want to impact the facility based on costs they may have to bare for decanting space,” Hrynyk detailed.
“We’re just really concerned about the go-forward piece, and we will be requesting that the government bare the cost of keeping those students in the C2 during the construction phase,” continued Hrynyk. “The safety of our kids is always our number one concern, and we want to make sure they aren’t in an active construction site and that they have a safe and conducive environment to their academic success.”
At this point, NLPS hasn't received any confirmation on when they can expect the project to be finished. The province had originally told the school division it could take roughly two years to complete.
NLPS will be discussing their future at the C2 with the facility. Hyrnyk noted "we have nowhere else to go."
"Hopefully we get a favourable response with respect to that space and hopefully we can get the government to commit to the cost of extending the duration of the students’ stay in the C2,” she expressed.
Upgrades to the local high school were approved by the provincial government in March 2017, when they allocated $500-million to 26 school projects across Alberta.
The design finalized for BCHS includes an NBA-sized gymnasium, an updated common area, a full-sized kitchen, and more natural lighting, among other upgrades.
“We want our students to be in an environment that meets their needs. This is a project that has been long overdue,” stated Hrynyk, adding in their original pitch to the province NLPS had recommended replacing the school that was originally built in the 1970s entirely, however, when it came down to it, the school board settled for a modernization.
“We want to make sure the infrastructure is safe and that we don’t have to start spending costs into the building that far exceed what a replacement cost of a building would be or modernization,” Hrynyk noted.
Although they aren't asking parents to submit their frustrations with the province to the Minister of Education, Hrynyk said it never hurts.
“Any time a parent makes contact with the government on our behalf, that’s always helpful, but certainly the lines of communication are open."
Meagan MacEachern, Bonnyville Nouvelle
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