Regina school to close due to 'structural concerns'
Holy Rosary Community School will be closing its doors due to structural concerns.
A letter was sent to the Ministry of Education as part of the school board’s Major and Minor Capital Funding and Projects Submission highlighting the need for a rebuild.
It was voted on at Monday night’s school board meeting.
“The foundation of this building is seriously compromised despite the current remedial structural work. This school has an inevitable end of life date,” read the proposal.
Holy Rosary School began construction in 1914, with additions in 1928 and 1971.
Regina Catholic School Division provided notice to parents regarding the closure on Tuesday.
Ryan Lauf, a parent of two boys at the school, said his children are upset about the news.
“[My eldest] has developed friendships along the way that are continuing to grow and he’s quite sad that the school’s closing and he’s going to lose his friends,” he said.
“As far as being parents, we love the school because of the smaller class sizes it has. We feel that the kids are getting a better education, they get more one-on-one time with the teachers than they would in some of the other schools.”
Twylla West, communications and media co-ordinator for Regina Catholic Schools, said that while staff were hanging signage on part of the building last summer, the structural issues were revealed.
“[An engineering firm] revealed that, very plainly, the original building for Holy Rosary School has reached the end of its useful life,” she said.
“It was a bit of a tough day at the school [Wednesday] I think, a very emotional day because it’s not what everybody wanted to hear.”
The engineering firm provided three years as a timeline for closure. However, the school will officially close by the end of June of 2024.
“We don’t want to risk anybody so we are being very conservative with the timeline to make sure that we’re not compromising anybody’s safety,” West said.
The school division will consult with families at a private meeting to gather feedback and guidance on determining next steps.
“Our main focus right now is just taking care of the students and what they need and what their families need. It’s a really important community to Regina Catholic Schools, staff, the students, and the families, and it has been for over 100 years.”
“After that, we’ll be able to look at more big picture pieces but we want to take care of them first.”
--With files from CTV News Regina's Katy Syrota
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.