The Quesnel School District held what it called a facilities envisioning meeting at Correlieu Secondary School last (Feb 8) night.
Staff went over some enrollment numbers and talked about potential capacity issues at elementary schools, particularly in South Quesnel, but the crux of the meeting revolved around what to with the secondary schools in the next 5 to 10 years.
One option was to build a significant addition to Correlieu that would be able to house approximately 400 junior school students and create a school within a school campus for around 15 million dollars or more.
A second option would first involve renovating the Ecole Baker school site for 7 to 9 million dollars to house Quesnel Junior Secondary students and then another 10-million or so at Correlieu to increase the shop space and classroom space there.
Whatever the option the public likes, Secretary-Treasurer Sue-Ellen Miller says the dilemma is the timeline…
“If this project was to be submitted to the Ministry for approval in 2019, it would be at least five years, if not longer, before the project can be completed.”
Meanwhile the clock is ticking on how long Quesnel Junior School, built in 1950, is still suitable for the District to use.