After a five-week delay in procedure and construction there is a firm possibility Ponoka Composite High School (PCHS) won’t be ready to house all students by September.
In the spring of 2011 Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) was informed $12 million was available to modernize both the high school, which is set to become a grades 7 to 12 school, and Diamond Willow Middle School (DWMS), which will be a Kindergarten to Grade 6 school by the fall of 2014.
WCPS employed architects to examine the schools, taking into account the modernizations wanted, and estimate what the projects would cost.
The number came in at just under the fixed $12 million and the Alberta Government, as well as an independent cost analyst, felt the bids would be higher than what the funding would allow.
WCPS wanted to reallocate funds from another budget line and add it to the $12 million to ensure the modernization projects would be covered. However, the money couldn’t be transferred without approval from Alberta Education.
“They took about five weeks to get back to us,” explained superintendent Larry Jacobs.
“When the tenders went out and the bids came in we found we didn’t need that money,” he added.
Because of the delays, Shunda Consulting and Construction Management Ltd can’t ensure they’ll have the high school finished in six weeks before classes start up again.
If all students aren’t able to physically attend the PCHS for all classes come fall certain high school courses will be transferred to restricted areas of DWMS until construction is complete. Jacobs says it will be classes such as humanities, which doesn’t require standard structured learning environments, rather than hold back the middle school students until everyone can be accommodated.
“We recognized right out of the gate that utilizing Diamond Willow was not the best option,” said Jacobs.
Sections of the middle school have been boarded off for modernizations but access to the common area, library and gymnasium have been granted as the high school needs them.
Since an initial press announcement at the beginning of June, Shunda has encountered no problems and construction is proceeding faster than expected and Jacobs says there is the possibility they may be done before the six weeks.
Facing a shorter timeframe, staff members at PCHS are looking into ways the school’s space could be configured to accommodate every student until the modernizations are done.
However, Jacobs says high school students would probably still use the DWMS gymnasium for a short period.
Transition programs for students attending what is soon to be the former high school will be in place for fall, says Jacobs.
“At this particular time I’m not exactly sure what that’s going to look like,” said Jacobs following the June 18 school board meeting. He believed within two weeks a more complete vision would be available.