Neepawa to get another new school
- Details
- Published on Friday, March 24, 2023
Province announces vocation high school planned for BPSD
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
The Manitoba Government has announced plans to build nine new schools over the next four years, and Neepawa appears to be one of the communities that will benefit from it. On Friday, Mar. 24, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko and Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister James Teitsma made the unexpected announcement at the grand opening event in Winnipeg at Bison Run School.
“With the construction of three more new schools, the Manitoba government will exceed its 2019 commitment to build 20 schools in 10 years and complete the work two years ahead of schedule,” Ewasko said.
The nine publicly funded, owned and operated new schools have been determined on a priority basis and will be constructed and operational by September 2027. One of those schools announced is a Grade 9 to 12 vocational school and child-care centre in the Beautiful Plains School Division. Although the exact location was not announced at the Winnipeg event, the Banner & Press has learned that it will be slated for Neepawa.
Beautiful Plains School Division Superintendent Jason Young told the Banner & Press this is welcome news.
“The current Neepawa schools will be comfortably full by this fall. The nine temporary classrooms will be full, as we are adding about 10 students per month to the Neepawa schools.” The temporary classrooms were needed even after the last school expansion.
Young indicated that the new school has been part of the BPSD capital plan for a couple of years. He said, “There’s a big need for trades training and regionally, there is a big gap between Crocus and the Dauphin schools. With the new hospital and with all the other demands for trades training, we need this new school. It will need 16 acres of land so we can have proper playing fields and green space, so it will look like we want a community to look.”
Young noted that the current gymnasiums are the entertainment hub of the community right now with all the activities. They gyms are currently full of high school sports and the 20-plus team Filipino Basketball league. School grades will be reallocated again. Young said HMK may become K-3, the current NMS might be 4-6 and the current NSACi may become 7-8 and 9-12 at the new facility.
Neepawa had their Neepawa Middle School built in 2019 but are already over capacity. Town officials believe Neepawa’s population is over 6,000 people as compared to about 3,200 12 years ago.
The Town of Neepawa is heavily into planning sewer, water and other infrastructure to accommodate the new hospital and the Assiniboine Community College LPN training centre that is scheduled to go into the former RCMP building in Neepawa. That planning and budgeting will only be further stretched with the proposed new school
Neepawa mayor Brian Hedley noted to the Neepawa Banner&Press that he had heard the new school was a possibility but about Friday’s announcement he said, “That’s exciting, that’s big news.”
