Despite added utility costs, students will not be moving into the new Edwin Parr Composite School until September after the school division opted to push back the February move-in date.
Aspen View Public Schools announced the decision in a press release Jan. 15. It had originally planned to move into the new building in February during a school break.
In the release, Aspen View Public Schools superintendent Mark Francis states that construction continues to move very close to completion along expected timelines, but “as is common with any sort of construction project, even minor delays can push other milestones back.”
“For example, there has been a slight delay in the delivery of furnishings; until the furniture arrives, it can’t be assembled; until it’s assembled, we can’t place computers on it; etc.” he states in the release. “None of the delays are terribly significant or unexpected, but they have affected our forecasted operational date.”
The division now plans to move into the school for the start of the 2018-19 school year in September, according to the press release.
In an interview, Aspen View communications officer Ross Hunter said though the delay only amounted to a couple of weeks, that was long enough to make September the most sensible time to move once February was not possible.
“The next extended break in the calendar isn’t until spring break in April, which would be the next feasible opportunity to move,” Hunter said. “That’s in the middle of the semester, which is why we opted for next fall.”
In the release, Francis said there are perks to moving into the new school in September.
“While we are eager and excited to get started in the new EPC, waiting until next fall will allow staff plenty of time to get settled in, and lots of opportunities for student orientation and transitioning,” Francis said in a press release.
The release also states the new Edwin Parr Composite School will be a Grade 7-12 school. It notes that students in Grades 8-12 will finish the 2017-18 school year in the original EPC, while current Grade 7 students will complete the year at Landing Trail Intermediate School.
School staff were prepared for this possibility, Hunter said.
“The instruction given to the schools have always been, ‘You need to have plans in place for all possible situations.’ That includes staying in the school for the entire school year,” he said. “This doesn’t derail anything for the schools. They got plans in place. They got contingencies.”
There are additional costs associated with delaying the move, Hunter said. With both the new and old school buildings operational at the same time, the division will have to handle utility costs for both.
Although Hunter said he did not have firm numbers on what that cost would be, he added solar panels on the new school building helps mitigate those costs.
“We won’t have to have all the lights on but the solar panels will be up and running,” Hunter said.
The change in date should not have any effect on school programming, Hunter said, as program changes are being planned for the 2018-19 school year.
The change in plans was also approved by Alberta Education and Alberta Infrastructure, Hunter said.
Athabasca University, who is trading the land it owns where the new school is being built for the land around the current Edwin Parr Composite School, is also OK with the change in move date, Hunter added.
With the new Edwin Parr Composite School building located next to the Athabasca Regional Multiplex, the recreational facility was preparing for an influx of school kids in February, according to general manager Dustin Pysyk.
Pysyk said he has not yet analyzed the Multiplex financial numbers in the wake of the announcement, but he added he does not anticipate the change having a large impact on their budget.
“I didn’t really think they would be using our field house that much this year, anyways,” Pysyk said. “I don’t think, overall, it’s going to affect the bottom dollar that much.”
As a parent, Pysyk said he felt it made more sense to open the school at the start of a school year.
“It makes way more sense that they start fresh in a new school, in a new school year. Everything’s worked out over the summer,” Pysyk said.
