UPDATED: Regina city council OKs school site funding after ultimatum

REGINA – A contentious plan for the city of Regina to fund a new joint-use school site will go ahead.

The city had been at odds with the Saskatchewan government over servicing the Skywood development in northwest Regina years ahead of schedule.

Cost to provide roads and sewers for the site is expected to be more than $6 million. The province is providing a grant for turning over land to build the three joint-use schools, but the money is typically used as compensation for lost property that could have also been used for parks or recreational facilities.

In mid-November, councillors said education funding should not be the city’s domain. “We’ve been given an ultimatum to play along or miss out on the school,” said Ward 3 councillor Shawn Fraser.

“We just feel this issue is not a hill to die on.” – Fougere

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: <em>"We just feel this issue is not a hill to die on."</em> - Fougere

Mayor Michael Fougere said Thursday he sees this as a one-time issue.

“We continue to look at the big picture of having three schools built in a timely way to meet the demands of our growing city. That’s our focus,” Fougere said. “How we get there is a matter of discussion.”

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Education minister Don Morgan told reporters on November 17 if Regina didn’t play ball, there was no timeline on when the Skywood school would be built.

READ MORE: Saskatchewan government going ahead with P3 school model

Fougere said there will be ongoing talks with the province about how to handle school developments through public-private partnerships (P3) in the future. He added that Regina’s experience with the Skywood site will be brought up with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA).

“We just feel this issue is not a hill to die on. The discussion of how they’re funded is for another time,” Fougere said.

Fougere expects the city will recoup the money over the next two to three years through development fees.

The other two joint-use schools will be built in Harbour Landing and Greens On Gardiner. Other municipalities receiving schools under the plan are Saskatoon, Martensville and Warman.

All of the schools are to be complete by fall 2017.

WATCH BELOW: The education ministry is off-loading some of the cost to develop a new joint-use school site and councillors say it’s not their domain (November 14)