New elementary school planned for west Saskatoon to replace three ageing facilities

Saskatoon Public Schools has been asking the province for capital funding for repairs and upgrades for at least one west Saskatoon elementary school for the last 24 years. Until this past March, no funding had been received.

Board Chair Colleen MacPherson says that all changed when the province allocated money for one new, state of the art school. It will replace Pleasant Hill, King George and Princess Alexandra elementary schools in the next few years.

“King George school is 107 years old. Pleasant Hill school is 106 years old. Schools that old come with a tremendous amount of deferred maintenance costs…combined, the three existing schools – we estimate the deferred maintenance is about $68 million.”

Cost for a new facility that will accommodate between 400 and 500 students is estimated between $22.5 million and $25 million. It will be built on the Princess Alexandra site.

“Part of our project development plan will be to seek out some partnerships or development opportunities for groups, organizations – maybe public, maybe private that would be interested in re-purposing the buildings,” says MacPherson.

Alternatively, developers could make use of the land for other projects.

While completion of the new school is still two to three years in the future, consultations and partnerships with the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Tribal Council still need to be worked out to potentially enhance the entire site so they can also provide additional services to the people who live in the community.

MacPherson says most of the students already commute by bus, so there shouldn’t be too many issues with changes to the school’s location.

A name for the school hasn’t been chosen yet. It’s something MacPherson hopes the community can take part in, at a later date.