REGINA — As a new school year begins in Saskatchewan, Education Minister Everett Hindley faces a number of outstanding issues and priorities.
Among the biggest is dealing with enrolment pressures driven by rapid population growth in parts of the province. That was highlighted last week when Hindley joined Premier Scott Moe and officials from Regina Public and Regina Catholic school divisions to mark the start of construction of the new West Harbour Landing joint-use elementary school, expected to be completed in 2027.
The new school is being built to address ongoing overcapacity issues at the existing joint-use school in Harbour Landing. The project has taken years to come to fruition, and Hindley acknowledged it was “not a normal timeline.”
“I think part of the reason for some of the delays was just around trying to get it handled and working very closely with the City of Regina and our partners at both the Regina Public and Regina Catholic school divisions around what was happening for development in this area, trying as best as we can collaboratively to predict the growth in this part of Regina and what that would look like on the education system.”
He said additional time was needed to ensure “we’re able to get the site right as best possible and the size of the school here in terms of trying to be able to accommodate as many families as we can.”
“But obviously we’d like to try and get that done quicker and there are steps being taken by the government as we kind of learn along the way, working with our municipal partners and our school board partners to try and make these projects get off the ground faster.”
The site for the new school is at Gordon Road and Campbell Street. Regina Public board chair Adam Hicks has already indicated the new school will likely reach maximum capacity when it opens.
Hindley acknowledged the challenge.
“It’s a challenge right across the province. It’s one of those things where we see this growth happen in communities, whether it’s places like Regina and Saskatoon or other communities and cities right across this province.”
He also pointed to another pressure: the need for dollars to address aging infrastructure.
“Perhaps it’s through preventative maintenance and renewal to repair a roof or something to prevent that from leaking and causing additional challenges. I’ve seen the list. It’s a never-ending list of capital projects. Some are minor, some are major, and some are complete replacements or consolidations.”
Hindley said the ministry is working with school divisions and municipalities to anticipate growth in neighbourhoods and plan accordingly.
He said the province is trying to maximize capital dollars, pointing to a budget of close to $200 million in capital alone, with $21 million for ongoing or new school projects.
As for where enrolment pressures are greatest, Hindley said it’s “a mix of everything.”
“So, for example, in Regina and Saskatoon, I think it’s a little bit of both, right? It’s elementary, it’s high school, and that would be the same, I think, in some rural communities as well. You think, for example, in the east side of the province, where there’s significant economic development happening with some of the mine investment and expansion, that means there are growing communities there, and in that case, I would say it’s probably more on the elementary side.”
With more than 700 schools across the province, Hindley said the government is relying on divisions to identify their priorities.
“They will come to us as the Ministry of Education to say, here’s the ones that we feel need to be replaced, here’s the ones that are major capital projects that we think we can squeeze some additional years out of if we get the proper amount of funding in place to address things like roofs, like HVAC systems, and perhaps have those schools operating for another 10, 15, 20 years, potentially.
“So, it is a little bit of everything, and that’s why I think as a government, we’re trying to be flexible, we’re appreciative of the work that we have with the school sector and the divisions right across this province, all 27 school divisions, and trying to collaborate with them, try to identify where the pressures are, and then with the dollars that we do have available, address those pressures as best we can on a timely basis.”
Pause on third-party presentations remains
Heading into the new school year, Hindley confirmed the pause on third-party presentations in schools remains in effect.
That pause followed controversy two years ago when Planned Parenthood brought sex-ed materials to a presentation in Lumsden.
“There’s been no change, the pause remains in effect and we haven’t as a government made any changes with respect to that policy,” Hindley said.
Asked whether a framework would be created for divisions regarding outside materials, Hindley said the issue has been raised in meetings with divisions and groups.
“I think there is some work happening at the ministry level in conjunction with school division partners, but I wouldn’t today be able to say what status that is at, but to just refer back to the pause remains in effect at this time.”
Hindley noted his ministry is also focused on K-3 literacy initiatives and specialized support classrooms around the province.
On third-party presentations, Hindley said it was “still a priority for the government,” adding “work continues on that. I think when we get to a place where we’re able to make some further announcements on that, we will do that.”
