Brandon School Division requests new modular classrooms from province
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2022 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Brandon School Division’s board of trustees unanimously approved a late motion on Monday night to request six modular classrooms from the province’s department of central services.
If this request is approved, four of these new modular classrooms will be installed at Maryland Park School for the 2022-23 academic year, while the remaining two will be set up at Vincent Massey High School.
BSD chairperson Linda Ross said during Monday’s regular meeting that these modular units are a necessity given the fact that the division’s enrolment numbers have “outstripped the capacity of our schools.”
“We need additional space, so we are requesting some modular units,” Ross said. “Our preference is always to have more permanent structures, but that’s where we’ll start for now.”
Trustee Blaine Foley raised concerns that these short-term solutions to the division’s capacity problem could undermine their ability to pursue permanent expansion in the future.
While Ross shared Foley’s apprehension, she mentioned that BSD officials are being put in a position where they have to “pursue both of those options at the same time.”
Despite these concerns, BSD trustees unanimously voted in favour of this motion.
A BSD spokesperson later told the Sun via email that this request for modular classrooms, if approved, would be funded by the province through the capital budget. Therefore, these costs will not be financed through the division’s 2022-23 operating budget.
There are currently nine modular classrooms being used in the BSD right now. These units are installed at the following buildings: Alexander School (one), Betty Gibson School (two), Earl Oxford School (three), Meadows School (one) and École New Era School (two).
BSD’s last modular classroom was installed in 2018. At that time the cost of establishing a modular unit was approximately $343,000.
» The Brandon Sun