A scenario exists where closing Widdifield Secondary School could be delayed.
However Near North District School Board chairman Dave Thompson says the delay, if it happens, would be temporary.
Widdifield is scheduled to close at the end of the 2018-19 school year and the students would transfer to either West Ferris Secondary or Chippewa Secondary.
Thompson says what puts next year’s date in doubt is the new Progressive Conservative government and how it moves forward with education issues.
Thompson says to accommodate the Widdifield students, both Chippewa and West Ferris will need major and extensive renovations.
“Normally we submit our capital plan project requests in September and by January we’re told if the money is coming,” Thompson said.
“But with a new government we don’t know if that door from September to January remains open.”
Thompson says if there’s no money after the funding applications are made or if there’s a delay beyond January, there’s no way to move the Widdifield students in time for the 2019-2020 school year.
“The trustees have said we’re not going to move the students until both of the other two schools are ready,” Thompson said.
With the Tory government being sworn in on Friday and a new Minister of Education also being named, Thompson says the plan moving forward is to set up a meeting with education officials in the next couple of weeks to determine if capital project money will still be available and when.
If it’s not and Widdifield remains open for another year, Thompson notes it means more money has to go into a school which won’t be around much longer.
However he says in case of emergency repairs, the board will have no choice but to address these scenarios.
“We’ll do it because you can’t put staff and students in an unsafe situation,” Thompson said.
