The Town of Manning and the Hamlet of Fort Vermilion will be getting some new, and upgraded buildings.
Education Minister, Adriana LaGrange and Infrastructure Minister, Prasad Panda announced capital funding for 14 schools.
That includes a new K-12 school for Manning and the money for the Fort Vermilion Public School, which is 7-12, will help it relocate away from the flood plain, according to LaGrange.
“We get hundreds of requests every year for new facilities,” says LaGrange.
“There are a number of factors that are looked into, whether its health and safety, whether it’s an enrollment issue, whether it’s a legal issue; we do have legal requirements to provide schools for francophone communities, and these two projects (Fort Vermilion and Manning) have risen to the top of the list.”
According to a release from Peace River MLA, Dan Williams, the expected cost of designing these projects will be over $6 million.
LaGrange also says the Fort Vermilion school relocation shot up the list following last spring’s flood.
The flood caused students at St. Mary Elementary School to have to finish classes elsewhere.
“While they (the Fort Vermilion School Division) did receive some insurance funds to compensate them, the thought was we’re actually going to move the school away from the flood zone, which makes so much sense rather than rebuilding,” explains LaGrange.
There is no word at this time on when construction will start, or many many students the schools can accommodate.
The new school in Manning will be under the control of the Peace River School Division.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
