On Wednesday, Jim Prentice announced a commitment of over 263 million dollars for school projects across Alberta over the span of two years.
Lethbridge will reap the benefits, as the Premier listed a new school on the city’s west side as one of the projects.
“To hear that we were getting the much needed west side middle school was just great for us,” said board chairman, Mich Forster. “GS Lakie is at capacity and is going to keep growing. So even before the new middle school is built we’ll be well beyond capacity.”
Perhaps most excited about the announcement are the staff and students at Stirling School.
“People in the community started sending me texts and emails about Premier Prentice’s announcement. So I had goosebumps and we were excited,” said the school’s principal, Darren Mazutinec. “We’ve been working on this for a long time and when it finally came to pass we were pretty happy.”
Stirling School was built in 1957, then expanded in the early ninties. It is responsible for around 300 kids every year, and Mazutinec says there are plenty of areas within the school that could use ‘modernization’.
“The 1957 wing has been functional. We’ve had kids in it ever since it was built. Furnaces, lighting and some windows… we’re obviously an old school so that would be our priority and I’m sure it’s the province’s priority as well.”
There are still little details surrounding the funding announcement, and the schools must wait until further information is provided.
“We have to get information from Alberta Infrastructure in terms of the specifics about the amount of funding and the process that we will follow and the timeline,” said Forster. “But of course our goal is always not only to build quickly but also to build right.”
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