A much-needed Sherwood Park replacement school has secured funding.
On Wednesday (Mar.1), Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) announced that the Alberta government has committed to making room in the 2023 budget for the construction of a replacement school for both Sherwood Heights Junior High and Ecole Campbelltown.
“Having a replacement school in the well-established neighbourhood of Sherwood Heights will benefit families in the county for decades to come," said Trina Boymook, the EIPS board chair.
This project has been on EIPS' list for almost 10 years as problems with the existing schools grew.
"We have areas within the school that were at risk of major component failure, particularly around the heating system," said Boymook. "It makes it very difficult for us to regulate the heat within the building."
"There are no replacement pieces even available for if the heating system goes down."
The new building will primarily hold students from Sherwood Heights, with an elementary wing being built for Ecole Campbelltown students.
"It will replace Sherwood Heights, which has around 700 students in it," said Boymook. "Our French immersion program at Ecole Campbelltown will be moving into what will be a K-to-9 school."
The exact amount of funding that the government will be putting into this project has not yet been released. Boymook added that those details should be coming soon.
"In the coming weeks, on the operational side of things, we will receive the information from Alberta Infrastructure around the specifics on how much money we are working within."
There is also no timeline in place for when the school is expected to start and end construction. At the moment, they are in the final stages of the design phase.
Boymook hopes that the school will not only be a fantastic facility for students but for the greater community as well.
"We educate kids in the school during the day, but this is truly a community building in which we serve the community in many different ways."