As week one draws to a close for SD52, Prince Rupert Middle School students return to aging digs with little known about the timeline for replacement

On Tuesday, the Class of 2022 entered the same doors of Prince Rupert Middle School this first week of September as that of the class of 2011.  

That the memorable year which brought the creation of the Middle School System for Prince Rupert.

At the time those eleven years ago, the PRMS plan was one which had seemingly promised a new school as part of the announcement of the merger of Prince Rupert Secondary and Charles Hays Secondary at the Prince Rupert Boulevard campus. 

But as the years have gone by and successive graduations taken place, the Ninth Avenue West structure has continued to serve as the home for the Middle school, sinking foundations, floors and other challenges to go with it.

For whatever reason, the path to a new school seems particularly complicated, with little discussion in recent years from the Board and Administrators  and few indications that any welcome news of a new build is forthcoming shortly.

It has been somewhat of a political football ever since the merger of the two high schools, the narrative to a few provincial election periods. 

One memorable moment, coming as an opposition MLA in 2017 named Jennifer Rice demanded a new School, while in a seat on the NDP side of the House.  

The topic  also the talking point for a then Liberal candidate Herb Pond who took on the Liberal government's party line towards how Ms. Rice had approached the issue  with less than full advocacy.

A 2019 missive from MLA Rice by then a member of the Horgan government noted that the province was ready at the time to build that middle school, but was seemingly waiting for further direction from SD52.

That's a lot of political water to flow along Hays Creek that adjoins the school site and yet here we are starting the 2022 school year with the aging structure still in use, a seismic upgrade basically the only notes to show for the summer.

And it's not like the province doesn't have any cash for new schools, a look at some recent announcements from the government of Premier John Horgan shows that the province will spend money on facilities.  

As the NDP government highlighted on the first day of school on Monday Education funding for facilities is an ongoing thing for many communities.

Considering the calls for a new facility for the Middle School program have been a discussion that has lasted over a decade, perhaps it's time for Education in Prince Rupert to make for a topic worthy of a Town Hall Forum such as that on Health care last month.

An event that would offer MLA Jennifer Rice the chance to bring the stakeholders together to explain why there has been such a delay for a much needed local educational resource.

The push for a replacement started with some momentum back in 2012, when School District 52 announced plans to seek replacement of the Middle School, Close to ten years later we really have no idea when that may actually come to pass.

There did seem to be a glimmer of hope in February of 2020, with both the MLA and School Board seemingly on the same page for future planning.

With more momentum relayed through that month that offered a glimmer of hope.

School District to share plans for Prince Rupert Middle School replacement with City Council tonight

School District showcases potential sites for new middle school

Since that time however, the updates have dwindled to few, though a bit of a history lesson on the far too long running archive of glacial activity on the file can be reviewed from our notes of 2020.

The last update from the SD52 Board and administration came in May this year when it was noted that the fate of the replacement for PRMS was still in the hands of the province. 

The main takeaway at that time, that of the accumulated historical consultation cost of over a million dollars towards a project that still seems far off in the future.

Even then, the discussion was short, the details few towards what parents, guardians, staff and students may expect in some kind of decision making as to a final site decision and a timeline for construction.

The School District has indicated it prefers a build adjacent to the existing site, but the Province apparently is still seeking out other options for consideration as well.

As for what we may learn in the days ahead, the current School Board roster has one more session in their mandate taking place on September 20th, another one of the Board's Zoom sessions, the School District carrying on with remote gatherings long after most other elected bodies have returned to in person sessions.

If the current collective of Trustees and Administrators don't have an update for the community on the 20th, they will be handing the file over the next group of elected School Board trustees. 

And that should make the PRMS replacement plans the number one topic for the upcoming campaign for those that are interested in seeking the office of Board Trustees.

Allowing for everyone with an interest in the upcoming campaign to go on the record, whether as  an incumbent to explain why there has seemingly been near a decade of delays towards a new build. 

Or to allow those that may be seeking office for the first time to weigh in and to try and effect some change towards a long running issue that is truly needed.

You can follow the SD52 campaign from our Election page.

For notes on Education in the District see our archive page here.