New school officially opens in Warman

Teachers, school division representatives and government officials were on hand Friday to mark the official opening of Warman Community Middle School.

The school bell has been ringing since September, but on Friday morning, Warman officially opened its new middle school.

Education Minister Don Morgan and Martensville MLA Nancy Heppner joined students, teachers, Warman residents and representatives from Prairie Spirit School Division for the Warman Community Middle School grand opening.

“Warman is one of Saskatchewan’s fastest growing communities and we recognize that more school infrastructure is required to meet the needs of the students, their families and the community,” Morgan said in a press release.

The province first announced the project in 2010. Classes began at the school in September with approximately 525 students enrolled.

The school cost just over $29 million to build, with the provincial government providing $18.7 million to the project.

The school, LEED certified as environmentally friendly by international standards, is designed for 700 students. It is attached to the town’s Legends Centre.

The Legends Centre, which opened last year, houses a 400-seat theatre, an ice arena, six gyms and a library.

The school is not part of the province’s recent P3 plan. The Ministry of Education and the Prairie Spirit School Division share ownership of the school.

Premier Brad Wall announced the public-private partnership, or P3, model last month. The model would see school divisions lease schools from private companies, who would design, fund, construct or maintain the buildings. The lease would only be temporary as the school divisions would eventually earn ownership of the building.

The province plans to build nine new joint-use buildings to house 18 schools under the P3 model over the next four years.