The year was 2004 in our fair city. The Royal City Record headline reads: School deal is struck: New secondary school can be built if city and province work together and get $10.9 million in infrastructure funding
In the story, then Liberal MLA Joyce Murray says: “This will take some time, but we’re in a very good position right now and I would like to congratulate the people who brought this together.”
City councillor Chuck Puchmayr said: “This really is a win, win, win. School board, council and the government can be really successful in bringing this project home, and the only stumbling block will be the funding, and I think that’s up to the provincial government.”
Stories and headlines follow over the years. Too many to list here. But the theme is always the same: Everybody recognizes that the old NWSS needs to be replaced. And everybody is waiting for the province to approve the funds. But one thing stays the same – the school gets older, dirtier, more outdated and more rat-friendly every year. To be fair, there were some unexpected hurdles not the least of which was trying to find out what or who was buried in an old burial ground on the land of the school grounds. And then there were the disagreements over plans. Should the school include a new arts centre? Should it be on a smaller footprint but several stories higher? Should it be boosted with some private, for-profit development on the site? Should there be three towers? Should the middle school be on the same site (It wasn’t, and, thankfully, is now open.)?
But the big question remains – why is replacing a decrepit, seismically unsafe school so long? Is it because this is an NDP riding? Could it be as simple as that, crass politics? Could it just be that as time went by and the cost has skyrocketed it just seems too much for the province to swallow? City residents have joked often over the years, saying they hope their newborn son or daughter will get to go to a new high school in the city. But after awhile, those jokes become stale, and parents who have seen their kids attend the school have become rightfully skeptical about ever seeing a new high school built.
But we think the city is at a tipping point now. If the school district does not get some funding numbers soon, it may ignite a grassroots movement. And we’ll be cheering that movement on.
