LAC LA BICHE - Right now, the Lakeland Catholic School Division doesn’t own its only school in Lac La Biche, or the property it sits on. Catholic school division officials hope that discussions currently taking place with Lac La Biche County officials will change that.
The Light of Christ Catholic School in Lac La Biche opened in 2016 as the only Catholic school in Lac La Biche. The school operates out of a building that was a former public school division middle school that is still owned by Northern Lights Public Schools. The Catholic school board currently leases the building from the public-school division. The land around the school is also owned by the public-school board. Lakeland Catholic officials say they have been looking to build and relocate the Light of Christ school since first moving into the building.
Lakeland Catholic School Division communications officer Meagan MacEachern hopes current talks will help to secure land for a new building to replace the existing Light of Christ School. For the province to approve the construction of a new school, she explained, Lakeland Catholic needs to own fully serviced land within Lac La Biche County.
“Our division has been in conversations with the County of Lac La Biche about securing land for a new school,” she said, adding that, according to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), municipalities in the province are required to have designated land reserves for schools. “At this time, Lakeland Catholic has not had any land allocated from the County of Lac La Biche, and we look forward to ongoing planning and discussion.”
Lakeland’s push comes as the public-school board is finalizing a land negotiation with Lac La Biche County officials to build a new school on property near the Bold Center. That new school will replace the 70-year-old Vera. M. Welsh School that has been a top priority on the public school’s replacement list for the last three decades.
Enrolment numbers
In its three-year capital plan, Lakeland Catholic School Division has prioritized the construction of a new kindergarten-Grade 12 school to meet the growing needs of Light of Christ families and staff. The estimated cost of a new school building has been estimated at about $24 million.
When it first opened seven years ago, the Light of Christ School offered programming from kindergarten-Grade 7. The following year, Grade 8 and French immersion programming were added. Since that time, according to MacEachern, the school has grown to kindergarten-Grade 12, but also offers out of school care, preschool, and daycare.
Presently, there are 230 students enrolled at the school. It first opened in 2016 with 101 students.
“A new school would allow us to expand our programming, provide additional space for our students, as well as additional amenities such as a bus lane and larger parking lot,” she said.
According to MacEachern, the current building, which was constructed by Northern Lights in 1962, has been expanded several times over the years.
“Because Lakeland Catholic does not own the building, we do not receive Infrastructure Maintenance and Renewal (IMR) Funding for the facility, however, over the years, our division has dedicated funds to ensure ongoing necessary maintenance and improvements to the building so our students have a safe and comfortable learning environment,” she explained.
Going forward
Lac La Biche County Deputy Mayor Sterling Johnson and Mayor Paul Reutov confirmed they had been speaking to Catholic division representatives about possible locations for a new Catholic school
Referring to a “quick little Zoom meeting” held with Catholic school officials, Johnson said he is expecting school division officials to bring a presentation to all of council in the near future.
"They will be bringing forward options for properties for the new school they are trying to get approved in Lac La Biche,” he said. “They say they are very close to getting one. They will be bringing back options for Lac La Biche County council to discuss.”
The mayor attended the same meeting and said it was a good discussion.
“Our goal is, obviously, to accommodate all school boards in our community,” he said.
MacEachern said there are currently no timelines in place, as the preliminary discussions continue.
“We do not have approvals at this time; however, we are eager to continue to advocate for a new school and land for our Light of Christ community,” she said.
* With files from Rob McKinley
