It looks like the corner is being turned for Stewart Valley School.
During a meeting at Central School in Swift Current, some new information was revealed in part about the fate of the Stewart Valley School. The information that was revealed could point to a decision favouring a rebuild of the school building, which burned down in August of last year. To be clear, no official decision has been reached by the Chinook School division yet.
For Jennie Moen, whose children attended the school up until the fire, the prospect of the school being rebuilt is crucial not just for her and her family, but for the community as a whole.
"If it's not going to get rebuilt, our local economy is going to be basically non-existent," said Moen. "It's important to fight for."
In a community like Stewart Valley, the school is a major draw for prospective families looking to move into the community. Without the school, these families are more likely to consider other communities with schools, denying Stewart Valley of their skills and economic strengths.
For Moen, who has a background in insurance, there has been a lot of concern regarding the possibility of a cash settlement.
"When you have an insurance claim, you have the option to take a cash settlement," explained Moen. "It won't amount to what you're insured for. At most, it can be up to 50 per cent of the limit that you're insured for."
In the event that a decision is reached to go for the cash settlement, the money would not cover the rebuilding of the school.
Alas, with the information revealed last night, Moen is more hopeful for the rebuild now than ever before.
"I think we communicated our feelings last night," shared Moen. "I think we made some good points for the direction that we expect them to take for the community. I think it was a productive session."
While the news on that front is good, there are still some issues that Moen would like ironed out. Mainly, the concern for her now surrounds the timeline of getting the school rebuilt.
"Two and a half years was the initial time frame that they told us," said Moen. "In our eyes, that's just that's too long, and there are things that can be done to expedite that process. The discussion is at least open at this point. I hope they're going to take into account everything that was said last night. For now, we have some hope, and that's a good thing."