The land swap vote passed on June 13 with 60 per cent in favour, and now the fun part begins – designing a school that suits the needs of Jasper’s students and community. 

Betsey DeClercq, Grande Yellowhead Public School Division trustee for Jasper, is happy with the results of the vote. 

“I’m incredibly excited to get that support from the community,” she said. “It will be so much safer for our students.”

DeClercq said the swap means students’ learning will be uninterrupted as the school is constructed off the current property, and there will be a seamless transition from the old building to the new high school. The swap means it will also be safer for the elementary school students who share a field with the high school.

“We (the school board) felt that this was the best option,” DeClercq said. 

John Stitzenberger, GYPSD board chair, said the vote is the best option for students – which is something he learned when Edson’s schools went through a modernization a few years ago. 

“It was not a great situation,” he said. “I really didn’t want to see that happen again.”

DeClercq was happy with the level of support received from the two parent councils involved.

“The majority of them wanted it on land other than Grande Yellowhead,” DeClercq said. 

She was also extremely pleased with the amount of people who took the time to vote – 906 voters turned out, and 545 voted yes to the land swap. 

Mayor Richard Ireland said the community used the opportunity provided to them to get informed and vote. 

“Our position was the community can make a decision,” Ireland said. “The citizens had their opportunity, and used their opportunity.”

The school has been a hot topic in Jasper for many years, and DeClercq said it has been one of GYPSD’s priorities.

“Grande Yellowhead has been working on it since 2005 – that’s been their first priority, is to get a new school,” she said. 

Stitzenberger is happy that the vote is over and things can move forward. 

“I’m very happy,” he said. “This has been on the top of our list of things that need to happen for a while now.”

The vote’s 60 to 40 per cent split means the community was divided, yet clear in their choice, Ireland said. 

“It wasn’t so one sided that there wasn’t a need for the public discussion.”

The process is ready to move forward quickly now that the community has made their choice. There is yet to be an announcement on an exact dollar figure for the budget, but meetings are already being planned with teachers, students and other stakeholders to begin discussing what should go into the new building. Public discussions through the summer are in the works as well, however at this time no dates are set. A few lucky students from the high school will get the chance to meet with Alberta Education to tell them directly what they would like to have in their new school. 

“They (Alberta Education) want to hear first hand in Edmonton what they (the students) want in a new school,” DeClercq said. “This will be a school for our whole community.”

On June 6 Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Education will be in Jasper to kick off the meetings. The high school’s Sustainability Club and teachers will be in attendance for that meeting. 

Stitzenberger said Alberta Infrastructure has indicated they would like an architect in place by the fall, and that they expect the person to meet with the public to come up with a plan that is representative of the community.

One thing that will remain the same about the new school, is the Jasper Jr./Sr. High School’s history. DeClercq said all of the plaques and memorabilia inside the old building will be moved over. 

According to DeClercq, Alberta Infrastructure has estimated it will cost about 25 per cent more to build the school in Jasper than in a less rural community because workers and supplies will have to be brought in from outside. Accommodation for each of the construction workers will also have to be secured.

DeClercq said it will take three years before the keys are officially handed over to Grande Yellowhead. The land swap agreement is expected to be signed and sealed by June 22, DeClercq said, and the design process is slated to be complete by Christmas of this year. 

Ireland said it is important to leave a thorough and properly documented paper trail when working out the formal agreement, because most likely the swap will not be complete within the current council and trustees’ terms. The agreement is going back and forth between the two parties, but Ireland expects it to be completed promptly. He anticipated it would be finished from the municipality’s end on June 20.  

As for the dog park that will be lost when Grande Yellowhead takes over the land, Ireland said council hopes to find an alternate location before the swap is complete. If a space is found, the park will not be moved again. 

“Council’s expectation is that a new location will be found long before the exchange ever happens,” Ireland said.

The mayor said it was always made clear that the dog park was a temporary location, but recognizes the dog park is an important part of the community. 

“We respect that there is a fairly broad-based need for an off-leash area,” he said. 

GYPSD and the municipality are currently in the process of re-signing their user agreements, which means the community will continue to have access to school facilities, and vice versa. The town uses GYPSD space in the elementary school for its out-of-school-care program and summer fun, while the schools use the town’s space for various activities.

With the public vote over, Ireland said the process will be streamlined, as Parks Canada will not have to do public consultation for the zoning that will need to be done in the future to rezone the Bowling Green (or Parcel R11). Currently, Parcell R11 is zoned as green space. Usually a public consultation has to take place before re-zone something within the park. 

“We achieved all of that for them,” Ireland said. 

Parks Canada has already indicated that approvals are in place to move ahead with the land swap and the school construction, according to Ireland. 

The design process means GYPSD and Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord will be working together closely, something DeClercq is looking forward to. 

“The collaboration with them has been great,” she said.

The funding is set out for two distinct schools within one building, and the influence of the French-speaking students can only improve the environment for the high schools’ French Immersion and French programs. 

“This community, students, parents and staff have high hopes for this school,” said Jocelyn Nadeau, principal of École Desrochers. “We must get involved, make our ideas be heard and perhaps look for alternate funding that will allow us to supplement government funding in order to have a school that lives up to our ambitions. There will definitely have to be some give and take.”

Nadeau said the students are anxious to get into the new space and have more options available to them. 

“We can’t wait to move into the new school, have a gym, [more] space and be able to provide students with an inspiring learning environment as well as new and exciting programs,” he said. 

DeClercq said there’s also the option of add-ons or community space within the school if the funding were made available. 

“We’re not restricted in what we do.”

See future issues of the Fitzhugh for more information on public meetings regarding the design process.