Students, parents and teachers are thrilled to hear the Foothills School Division will be making some maintenance projects a reality in local schools this summer.

A few projects in town were approved to come out of the Board's reserve funds for a total cost of $2 million.

Assistant Superintendent with Foothills School Board, Drew Chipman says the biggest project is repaving of the parking lot and bus loop at Highwood High School.

"We've recognized for awhile that something needed to get done there, it was certainly one of our priorities and that's why we're looking to get the work done as soon as we can."

The cost the board is estimating for the project is roughly $400,000, though Chipman says they have yet to receive any quotes or tenders.

"That's an estimate. We certainly have to go through the process of getting tenders and getting quotes and making sure that we're following that obligation and then we'll get a concrete price," Chipman adds. "We met this morning already to try and move forward and we're going to be doing that as quickly as we can. We hope to get it all started this summer for sure but we can't guarantee at this point in time whether or not we can get it all completed."

Although repaving is also needed at Joe Clark school in High River, Chipman says the school board saw other projects as higher priority.

"We're not doing any paving at Joe Clark even though that was on the list of things to considered. Certainly we are doing some playground work there this summer, and adding some fencing on the north side of that playground as well."

Senator Riley, Spitzee and Joe Clark will all receive some minor maintenance projects this summer like fresh paint, so students and staff can expect to see a face lift when they return in the fall.

All of the improvement projects approved are as follows.

  • $630,000 - Repave asphalt at Ecole Secondaire Foothills Composite High School
  • $400,000 - Repave asphalt at Ecole Secondaire Highwood High School
  • $375,000 - Expand Transportation Services parking
  • $250,000 - Repaint hallways and classrooms in 14 schools
  • $146,000 - Reconfigure bus loop at Ecole Secondaire Foothills Composite High School
  • $100,000 - Upgrade sound systems in schools
  • $50,000 - Countertop replacement in schools
  • $49,000 - FSD Cultural Awareness space created

 

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