BCHS students and staff scheduled to return to home in 2021

As the modernization project continues, Bonnyville Centralized High School students and staff will be returning home location later next year while minor work on the building will continue for a time afterwards.

The school has made a temporary home for the second school year in the Centennial Centre since vacating the BCHS building.

“We are looking forward to a homecoming,” said principal Mark Centazzo. “Not that we haven’t enjoyed being at the C2, but we’re excited to get back to our home building and seeing all the work that’s been done.”

Work on the school’s improvements first began in April of this year headed by the Acheson based Jen-Col after a string of delays and a brief controversy that saw local politicians upset that local companies were prevented from bidding on the job.

Based on current predictions BCHS students should be returning to the building sometime in April 2021 while work is predicted to continue until January 1st, 2022.

The school’s gymnasium and theatre will continue being worked on after classes resume, a change of plans resulting from unforeseen conditions of the building site, rather than any delays caused by COVID-19, of which none have been noted.

A memo released by Alberta Infrastructure said foundation work has been completed for new sections of the building along with all underground water and sewer work, while framing on the second story has largely been completed.

Roofing, new gym walls, and electrical work are all ongoing areas of work. Work on the school’s expanded parking lot will also commence shortly, with the first layer of asphalt expected to be laid later this year.

Although the classes are currently scheduled to return to the BCHS building in early 2021, both Centazzo and NLPS communications officer Nicole Garner say that date is subject to change.

“Initially the plan was for us to do classes out of the Centennial Centre until phase one was done, and then returned to the school with the understanding that there’d be some construction going on,” said Garner. “But things would be put in place to kind of try to minimize disruption to students.

“We’re on track to meet the schedule, but nothing is set in stone until we’re back in the building.”

BCHS will continue its residence at the Centennial Centre until the school is ready to be re-occupied.