Major renovations and upgrades to Christ-King Catholic School in Stettler are nearly completed in the former Waverly School.
Newly renovated administrative and office space and staff room are well underway while the gymnasium has been upgraded with a new flooring.
“We’re looking at completing phase 2 by the end of February,” said Tom Koskie, facilities and curriculum coordinator for East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division.
Full funding of $525,000 from Alberta Education was approved last fall for the project which also includes a multi-purpose room and a kitchen area.
Formerly occupied by Clearview School Division, the old boardroom was converted into space for the administrative area and staff room.
Clearview vacated the space after the public school division moved its headquarters into a new joint building with the Town of Stettler at the southeast corner of Main Street and 51 Avenue last August.
Upgrading classrooms, a complete new roof and new boilers and water heaters, and electrical work were completed as part of the first phase last fall as the division dipped into its capital reserves for $1.5 million.
“It’s a transition to make it our school building and it’s a three-phase project,” said Koskie.
Phase 3 would include adding further space when the school enrolment starts to grow, currently with about 70 students from kindergarten to Grade 9.
However, the final phase could be years away.
“Phase 3 will not happen until the enrolment starts to increase, which could be three or four years away.
This project has been in the school division’s capital plan for many years, said Koskie.
Christ-King Catholic School moved into its current facilities in fall 2004.
During a recent division board meeting, the board denied a request by Stettler Adult Learning to rent two classrooms, which the division will accommodate in the next phase of renovations.
A lease agreement was also recently signed between the school division and the local Association of Communities Against Abuse for office space starting in January.