| As the City of Weyburn grows, the added numbers
of individuals, families and businesses can be both a blessing
and a curse - but taking care to stay ahead of the curve, and
preparing for the higher numbers of residents can alleviate any
problems. The City has learned this lesson by running out of residential lots not once, but twice; it is not a bad thing necessarily to run out of vacant lots, as long as the city is then able to handle the new construction that will result. This scenario leads to the second group that needs to wonder if they're prepared - the SE Cornerstone and Holy Family school boards. For Holy Family's part, they have a stated wish to eventually close up St. Dominic Savio as an elementary school and house their grades from K-9 under one roof at St. Michael School. The kindergarten numbers so far are about average but then, the new residents are only just now coming in to the city, and how many of those are young families with children? This won't be fully known until the fall. The question is, will St. Michael really have the room to accommodate Grades K-9, with room for some growth? If not, should they be closing up St. Dominic? At Cornerstone, there are some plans yet to be aired out or completed. One of the schools, Assiniboia Park, is directly across the street from a whole new neighbourhood that is even now under construction. You can be sure of growth ahead when their kindergarten numbers for next year are already almost double of last year's; what about the other grades? Is APES able to handle the higher numbers? This then raises some questions; have the school board considered the implications of new growth, not just in the city but even from the RM and in surrounding towns? All areas are seeing growth that is unprecedented, thus we have new construction at a feverish pace, and the snapping up of every house that goes on the market. There are plans that have been on the backburner for some time that include such options as moving the Weyburn Junior High into the Comp and closing one or two elementaries and moving them into the vacated WJH building. Are these moves prudent, or can the proposals be flexible? What about rejigging the attendance boundaries of schools with lesser populations instead of closing a school? This would make far better sense than closing a viable school and finding the need later to reopen it. Both Souris and Queen Elizabeth have some room for more students. QE doesn't have to be just for the rural students, and Haig is also seeing big growth. Some adjustments of their options need to happen to acknowledge the new realities of the community, or the school divisions could find themselves in a bad situation, unable to meet the population pressures. - Greg Nikkel |
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