LANIGAN — A merger of the two Lanigan schools into a single school has been added to the Horizon School Division’s wish list.
Jim Hack, the division's board of education chair, said they’ve made a submission to the education ministry asking for funding to consolidate the elementary and high school into a single school. He said both schools are in need of repairs.
“Because of enrolment, that we feel we can have both of them join together and make it K to 12,” he said.
Hack emphasized that any further action is in the hands of the provincial government, something that could take years.
Letters were sent to the community to solicit feedback about the plan.
“The community, students, parents, [School Community Council], everyone is aware,” Hack said. “It was very well taken taken by the community.”
The chair said there was no consideration of consolidating other nearby schools, like LeRoy School and Drake School, into a new Lanigan school building at this point in time.
Consolidation of small-town elementary and high schools into a single K to 12 school is a trend the ministry of education is encouraging. The elementary and high school in Hudson Bay was combined into a single school in 2015, while a proposed project to combine the elementary and high schools in Carrot River is on the ministry’s top 10 list.
