Pipestone Flyer
A recent announcement made by the Government has potentially delayed 19 schools in Alberta including Leduc’s newest school, West Haven Public School (WHPS).
In a recent news release the Alberta Government stated, “Albertans will save at least $14 million with the Alberta government taking responsibility for 19 new schools that were expected to be built using a public-private partnership (P3).”
The only school in the Black Gold Regional School (BGRS) affected is WHPS. The school was scheduled to be ready for the 2016-2017 school year and now it appears there may be a delay.
The Government determined that to deliver the 19 schools using the P3 method would cost almost $571 million. However, it has been determined that using traditional procurement methods will cost just under $557 million.
The target date for the delivery of the schools has been set back to 2017, however the government has expressed that they will work with school boards to build them sooner if possible.
The BGRS board has been working on the project for the last 6-8 months and they are hoping to work with the government to have WHPS up and running by the previously projected date of 2016.
“We have been working with the City of Leduc. We have excellent co-operation and collaboration and we plan on moving forward with the government as to which style we will be working with to ensure the school is built”, says Norman Yanitski, BGRS Superintendent. “We are confident and positive that we will be able to move forward and work with the government to ensure that this school gets built for the community of Leduc,” he adds.
At this time there is no confirmation if WHPS will be completed prior to 2017; BGRS intends to meet with the government at their earliest convenience to find out more information.