REGINA – A number of school projects have been put on pause in the wake of the provincial budget this week.
Among the projects on hold are the renovation of Campbell Collegiate, and a new school for The Towns to deal with overcrowding at Ecole Wascana Plains.
NDP MLA for Regina South Albert, Aleana Young, characterized it as "another piece of devastating news from Scott Moe's bad news budget."
"For a growing city like Regina this is a punch to the gut for families."
Campbell Collegiate is Regina's biggest high school, and Young said the Campbell project was going to replace 30 per cent of the school because of the "dire condition that it's in."
As for the Towns project, NDP MLA for Regina Wascana Plains Brent Blakley told a school community council meeting the previous evening at Wascana Plains School what had happened. "I had to break the news to them that their overcrowded school will continue to be overcrowded."
Blakley called these promises prior to the 2024 election. "As I said, teachers and parents at the community council meeting were hearing this for the first time and they were shocked to say the least."
The NDP MLAs are still trying to gather information on what other schools might have been impacts as well. What is known is that the Regina school projects are not the only ones being paused.
There is also confirmation from the town of Carlyle that Southeast Cornerstone School Division No. 209 was informed that the new school project there has been put on pause.
"With construction costs going up, the provincial government will be sequencing projects entering construction in a strategic way that allows projects to be completed based on those increased costs," their statement read. They stated that Carlyle remains approved and will continue through completion of the design phase.
Speaking to reporters in Regina at what was a grand opening ceremony for école du Parc, a new Francophone school in the north end, Education Minister Everett Hindley confirmed some projects were being paused.
"We're having to make sure we sequence our projects and so that we advance them sustainably with respect to the financing that goes through those projects," said Hindley.
"There are several projects, not just in Education but in other ministries as well, where they won't be advancing as quickly as planned. That doesn't mean the projects are in jeopardy. All these projects are going to be completed. The government has committed to them, we've announced them, they're at various stages of design and planning and development, and they will be completed. But again it's a matter of sequencing them."
