The Grande Yellowhead Regional Division (GYRD) board of trustees has taken the first step towards making a decision on the future of a shared high school facility in Jasper.

At last Wednesday’s (December 7) regular board meeting, the shared facility study was accepted as information, a formal step that officially marks the beginning of board-level discussions about the project.

According to information furnished by the GYRD, the facility report includes three options, two of which are variations on a shared-use plan. The remaining possibility involves stand-alone facilities for Jasper Junior/Senior High and Ecole Desroches. The board is also free to opt for an alternative not included in the report, should they determine that to be the best course of action.

The study is a result of several months of planning and discussion undergone by the GYRD and the Greater North Central Francophone district. Completed by an architectural firm, some of the study results were discussed at a public meeting held in late October at the high school. Currently, the francophone school authority leases two classrooms in the GYRD building and have two portables on site as well. The board information identified this space issue as well as the fact that the high school building is in “desperate need of modernization” as two reasons for moving forward on the project.

The board had its first opportunity to discuss the contents of the report on Wednesday (December 14) at a planning and priorities committee meeting but any outcomes were not available by press

time. It’s just the beginning of the process, according to GYRD officials.

“The board hasn’t set any direction whatsoever,” said Nicole Merrifield, communications officer for the division. “I can say confidently that the board of trustees is looking forward to this discussion.”

As to how quickly that discussion proceeds, Merrifield couldn’t say.

“It’s definitely a unique situation so it would be hard to set a timeline,” she said. Parents, students, teachers and the public at large will be kept up-to-date and involved in the ongoing conversation about the future of the school, she added.

“The fact there was a public meeting before the study was even accepted by the board should send a message that public input is really valued.” 

One concern that seemed to come from some in the 100- strong crowd that gathered for the meeting in October was that a decision to proceed with a shared facility had already been taken. This perception is not accurate, Merrifield said. 

The Greater North Central board has also taken the step of receiving the study as information, meaning that once board-level discussions have advanced, there may be the opportunity for talks between the two authorities to proceed.

Once this process has begun, a public meeting involving officials from both the public and francophone divisions may be arranged. A request for such a gathering had come out of the public meeting in October.