Momentum building on replacement school for Vera M. Welsh Elementary: NLPS

Image credit: NLPS.

There is some growing momentum towards getting a replacement school for Vera M. Welsh Elementary. 

The school is over 50 years old and a small stream is currently running through the basement crawlspace area.

This goal has been one of the top priorities for Northern Lights Public Schools, and on Tuesday, a meeting with NLPS representatives and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean, and Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr discussed the status of the project.  

“The meeting was positive, and everyone is aware of how long we’ve been advocating for this much-needed project and how much this means to the community,” said Board Chair Karen Packard in a press release. 

“I am confident we are on the right path for moving the project forward.”

The recent provincial announcement of spending billions more in new schools, the School Construction Accelerator Program, could be accelerate the process. 

Currently, the school division says they are working to finalize the schematic design for Vera M. Welsh Elementary and is awaiting approval from Alberta Infrastructure on a plan to share a parking lot with Lac La Biche County.

Once these steps are completed, NLPS will move forward with developing detailed drawings, which are scheduled to be finalized this spring. All this is needed before a project would go to tender.

tender. 

NLPS is hopeful that the project will be approved for construction either as part of the March budget announcements or through the new School Construction Accelerator Program.