Details Sparse, But Plans For Re-Building Duchess Moving Ahead

Monday, February 19, 2007 04:02 AM

Plans for a replacement school for Duchess Park hit a snag in January

School District 57's Board of Trustees has held a conference call with the Assistant Deputy Minister of Education in a bid to move forward with construction plans for a replacement school for Duchess Park Secondary.

Trustees deemed the call a priority at the last board meeting, after receiving a letter from Assistant Deputy Minister Keith Miller in mid-January informing them School District 57 would be responsible for coming up with $5.5-million dollars in capital funding for the new school if the board wants it to be a 900-student capacity facility. Miller said the ministry would only be providing $25.5-million dollars for a 650-student capacity school.

Miller's letter also announced the project would be reviewed for possible public-private partnerships - a concept, Trustee Lois Boone, said she was having difficulty understanding in regards to building a school.

School District Secretary-Treasurer, Bryan Mix, says the intent of the letter was clarified during the conference call. "The board has instructed me to write a letter back to Mr. Miller for his response. The contents of both letters will be available to the community at a later time."

"I can only say that the project is moving forward in an acceptable manner and I'm confident we will be able to get on with the job and get the school built."

Mix says he expects both letters will be included in the agenda for the next school board meeting set for February 27th.

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