Like many Manitobans, residents of Niverville have long awaited news that their overcrowded schools will see some relief. For more than a year, a new Grades 9–12 school has been at the top of the Hanover School Division’s five-year Capital Projects Plan, making it the highest priority in terms of their requests from the province.
Good news arrived on April 26, when it was revealed that a new school in Niverville is among the provincial government’s highest priorities as well.
Education Minister Ian Wishart, speaking to reporters about his department’s budget estimates, revealed that the government has identified the province’s two highest priority areas for new schools, and both are in rural parts of the province. One is Winkler, and the other is Niverville.
Wishart says that the previous NDP government significantly underinvested when it comes to greenlighting new schools, and that Manitoba schools currently are forced to use more portable classrooms than ever before. The current number sits at 460.
Although just about every one of Manitoba’s 37 school divisions have requested new schools, Wishart says that Niverville and Winkler are the communities with the most urgent needs.
Even so, Wishart cannot yet commit to when those needs will finally be met.
“First of all, I want to say how excited we are that the province has indicated that [a Niverville school] is a top priority,” says Randy Dueck, Superintendent of the Hanover School Division. “That’s great news. That’s the first step. But to be clear, that’s not yet an official announcement… A remark has been made that it’s a top priority, but it’s a remark by the education minister, so I think that’s a pretty solid remark.”
Myron Dyck, mayor of Niverville, says that he is excited to finally have an indication of where the community ranks in terms of the province’s priorities.
“This announcement is a product of the Town of Niverville council working together with the Hanover School Division Superintendent Randy Dueck, his board, our school trustees Ruby Wiens and Shannon Friesen, and our MLA Shannon Martin,” says Dyck. “Through the due diligence, hard work, and persistence of those mentioned, an announcement such as was given has made the many long years of hard work worth it. A new high school in Niverville is much needed and will provide our ever-growing student population the chance to have enhanced education opportunities.”
When a new senior years school is approved for Niverville, Dueck says that will trigger plans to recalibrate the current Niverville Collegiate into a Grades 5–8 middle school.
“The school is old [and] needs a refreshing,” Dueck says. “There’s some really nice pieces there for a middle school. It has some terrific shops areas that would meet the needs of a middle school very nicely. We’d assess things like the size of the gym and we’d have to address things like science labs to see if they are appropriate.”
The Niverville Elementary School, which received a five-classroom expansion in 2016, will remain a K–4 school.
Hanover anticipates that when a new senior years school is announced, it will be for a 400-seat facility. However, Dueck says that the core facilities would be large enough to accommodate at least 500 students.
“That means the gym size, the office spaces, the washroom spaces would all be for 500 students,” Dueck says. “The idea is that the school would be designed in such a way that we can build an additional bank of classrooms onto that school and it’s still right-sized.”
While the recent news is certainly cause for excitement, Dueck cautions that the next step in the process is similar to the ones that came before: waiting.
“We know it’s a priority for this government, so I anticipate they’ll want to get [the school approved] as soon as they can. But it’s a new government still. How soon is ‘as soon as they can’? I don’t know,” says Dueck. “But I just want to say that I’m delighted for the community of Niverville. They have waited a long time for this, and so I’m really happy that they will get there. We just don’t know how soon.”
In the meantime, despite the uncertainty about timetables, it seems certain that residents of Niverville will have good news to anticipate in the near future.
“I look forward to the day when construction will be completed,” Mayor Dyck says.
