Even as North Battleford Comprehensive High School undergoes a major renovation to include a second gymnasium and classroom space to accommodate Grade 7 students next school year, additional work is being considered to generate three more classroom spaces.
At last week's meeting of the board of education for Living Sky School Division, administration was directed to determine if it makes more sense to add the additional work to the current renovations by way of a change order or to go to a tender situation. The work, which involves renovation of three separate spaces, is expected to cost a total of about $224,000.
The board is leaning toward going to tender, not wanting to slow down the major renovation now underway
“We're pushing them hard on the project they're on now and I want to see that completed without any other interference,” said board chair Ken Arsenault.
One component of the additional work would be refurbishing classroom 149, which is presently being used as an SRC room. It would be retrofitted with new ceiling tiles, new lights, new paint and new white boards in order to be returned to classroom status.
The anticipated construction cost, according to RBM Architecture, would be approximately $24,000 for 730 square feet of space.
A second space, a band room referred to as the Rock, is to be repurposed as a multipurpose area, which would accommodate the displaced SRC as well as other uses such as counselling or meeting space.
The anticipated construction cost for the 775 square foot space is $25,000.
The third space to be renovated is the most expensive of the three. Expected to cost $174,000, it would see a folding moveable wall installed in the large lecture theatre to create two new classrooms, each about 600 square feet.
There is concern among board members about sound transmission through the portable wall, which facilities manager Brian Bossaer says he will address with the architect.
Using a portable wall, said RBM, would provide maximum flexibility to allow the large lecture theatre to be used as such when required.
Director of Education Randy Fox sees NBCHS, as it is now, accommodating 100 Grade 7 students, but there could be up to 150. He also anticipates there could be more Grade 8 students as well next year.
The school administrators, he said, are saying the extra spaces they would like to see reclaimed “won’t necessarily be used every period every day, but they would be used."
Arsenault said school administration has pointed out a need for space to provide support for student programming. These spaces, he said, could allow students to be as well served in the NBCHS atmosphere as the elementary schools.
He also said, “The other factor is Sakewew [High School]. We don't know what the long term future is for that."
With all the current construction and the work proposed last week, North Battleford Comprehensive High School isn’t getting any bigger.
The new gymnasium is replacing a shop area formerly used by division staff, who have been relocated to the addition recently built onto the division central office, and additional classroom space has been – and will continue to be – carved out of the existing footprint. There is no new-build money available from the government and, even though the work at NBCHS is being done with money from the board’s reserves, not from the Ministry of Education, the ministry will pay operational expenses only on projects it has approved.
