With construction well under way on the new Powerhouse Campus, the Wild Rose School Division is still aiming to have students in the school by the end of 2023.
Deputy Superintendent Greg Wedman says the construction is at the point that he will be giving some of the School Trustees a tour of the building.
“It’s still going nicely,” he says. “We are on track to get into the school by the end of 2023.”
As far as whether the building is on budget, Wedman says that’s not something WRSD handles. All of the funding is handled through the Alberta government, and any price increases or additional costs would be handled by them.
“There’s project managers for that, so it doesn’t affect us so much,” he says.
The Campus will include two schools. It will contain the students enrolled in H.W. Pickup, who are Grades 5 through 8, as well as the Drayton Christian School, with students in kindergarten through Grade 9.
Wedman says it’s up to the schools to decide whether it will be an open campus. Right now, H.W. Pickup is an enclosed campus, and he’s not sure what DCS will do with their older students as there aren’t any restaurants or convenience stores in the area.
The Powerhouse Campus is located immediately south of FrankMaddock High School, at the intersection of 43 Street and 43 Avenue. Wedman says he’s aware that some residents have raised concerns about traffic in the area, with some even requesting traffic lights. However, it would be the Town that would field those calls.
“Traffic studies were done prior to [starting construction],” says Wedman. Any suggestions from the studies were shared with the Town as well.
While there likely isn’t much of a traffic increase yet, he says there likely will be more traffic in the area when students start at the school.
