| Aug 21, 2013


While the construction site in the former parking lot of Sharbot Lake High School still looks more like a construction site than an almost completed building, school board officials remain confident that construction will be completed in just over month and that the school will be fully operational by early November.

“We will be releasing more detailed information later this week,” said Jane Douglas of the Limestone Board’s Communications Department. “But there has been no change in the projection that we made back in late June. The construction is coming along well.”

On June 7, the board said they were planning to have all students in the new building by January of 2014 “at the latest”.

On June 27, however, the following was released: “Right now, we expect the construction to be completed by the end of September. The month of October would be used to ensure that the school is cleaned, all technology is installed and new furniture is in place. We would then expect to move students into the new school in November.”

In the interim, Granite Ridge Education Centre – in an institutional sense – is opening on September 3 when the 2013 - 14 school year gets underway.

The Grades 7 – 12 Granite Ridge students will be housed in the still intact Sharbot Lake High School building and Kindergarten to grade 6 students at the former Sharbot Lake Public School building, which is being outfitted with portable classrooms for the transition period.

Tours and information sessions for students, parents, and community members at the two temporary sites are set for Monday, August 26.

The move in to the new school will be staggered, with the grades 7 to 12 students making the transition first, and the kindergarten to grade 6 students following along later. The outdoor yard for the primary grade students cannot be completed until the old building comes down.

Although there are certain to be complications around moving from one building to another on the same site and then demolishing the first building, the board is expressing confidence that the move can be made smoothly.

“Plans are well underway now to ensure the necessary resources are in place for an efficient and effective move,” said Jane Douglas at the board office.

Questions have been raised about the board’s decision to close Hinchinbrooke Public School before the new school was ready, and the decision to house the Kindergarten to grade 6 students at the Sharbot Lake Public School site during the transition period, rather than at the more spacious Hinchinbrooke school in Parham.

Answers to those two questions are included in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of a release put out by Granite Ridge Education Centre's (GREC) Principal Heather Highet.

"The closing of two schools and opening of the new school resulted in staff reassignments that ripple though schools throughout the board, so it was not viable to keep the existing administrative structure in place at schools that would only remain open for a fraction of the new year."

Choosing Sharbot Lake Public School over Hinchinbrooke for the interim was done to accommodate bussing concerns, according to Highet.

“While Hinchinbrooke has a fully functional gym and a large flat playground area as opposed to Sharbot Lake Public, bussing is a major issue. Tri-Board Transportation has indicated that bus providers would not have enough buses to transport Hinchinbrooke because a double-run would be required … the additional bussing costs to redirect students to Hinchinbrooke would be more than $100,000 per month which has not been budgeted for this coming year,” wrote Highet

 

Support local
independant journalism by becoming a patron of the Frontenac News.