Lethbridge junior high school to look at cost of its own upgrades

St. Francis Junior High School in Lethbridge will study whether it’s cheaper to renovate the entire school or build brand new.

The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division will spend $50,000 to do an in-depth building inspection to determine the next steps.

The school is nearly 70 years old, and while it has undergone some renovations, other parts have been left unchanged.

It will have a 100 per cent capacity next school year, with more than 700 students attending.

The provincial funding was requested by both students and staff to complete the first phase of the project.

“It feels good to be seen and heard and hoping for generations on, for them to have all the necessary equipment,” said Grade 9 student Lachlan Calder.

“We’ve had multiple areas where we’ve had mould and different things we’ve had to treat, and then you have to displace students with that, which impacts learning and so being able to actually not have to worry about all the old structure when trying to provide an education for all these students, the possibility is very exciting,” said school principal Jackie Kraemer.

“To be able to come to know that these children are going to have a modern, fully equipped, functional, safe building to come to school in just pleases me beyond belief,” said school division board chair Carmen Mombourquette.

The study will take between six to eight months to complete before a decision is finalized.