REGINA — A new joint-elementary school in Regina is in the works to address over-capacity issues.
On Wednesday, the city’s executive committee received a site proposal from the Ministry of Education, Regina Public Schools, and Regina Catholic Schools in the Towns area, located at the northwest corner of Arens Road and Green Stone Road.
Deborah Bryden, deputy city manager of city planning and community development, talked about the need for a new educational institute.
“A new school is urgently needed in this area as the existing neighbourhood schools are currently operating over capacity.”
The joint-use elementary school is set to accommodate a combined total of 1,400 students, with 800 spots allocated for the public school and 600 for the catholic school.”
The government first publicly announced the school in Sept. 2024, which was questioned by both Couns. Sarah Turnbull (Ward 5) and Shanon Zachidniak (Ward 8), due to a lack of reporting brought forward to councillors beforehand.
Bryden said that if the city had received the report prior to the announcement, funding would have needed to be sourced from elsewhere.
“This report allows us to receive contributions for our part in this work.”
City administration and the province established a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the respective roles of the city and the Ministry of Education in the construction process.
Regina would be responsible for installing water mains, clearing debris, building the roads around the school and handling other related duties.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education would pay $2.55 million upon receipt of confirmation of the title being raised for the school site, an additional $2 million upon receipt of confirmation of title being raised for the road right of way on the west side of the parcel (Green Stone Road) and other responsibilities.
The Ministry of Education would also pay the city $4.55 million towards servicing the 13-acre parcel of land.
Upon approval next week, the city would enter into a lease agreement with the Regina Public Schools and Regina Catholic Schools.
Mayor Chad Bachynski spoke on how this agreement will help reduce strain on the education sector.
“Any opportunity we can take to help with our capacity challenges in our schools directly impacts students there, teachers, educational assistants and everybody involved.”
The report did not provide a timeline for the school’s construction, which will be handled between the Ministry of Education and the two school boards.
City council will consider the agreement for final approval next week.
Moving forward, future considerations for school developments will continue to improve, noted Bryden.
“We’re all working collaboratively to enable that, and I think you’ll see very different steps being taken as we move through our neighbourhoods and communities as they come on stream.”
