The reviews were mostly positive last Monday as around 70 local residents, including many Aspen View Public Schools parents, came out to see the proposed schematics for Athabasca’s new secondary school.
“I'm excited about the opportunity for us to have a look at what's already been looked at by the architecture group and the school administration and board of trustees and etcetera,” said Irene Fitzsimmons, an Aspen View parent. “So, for the public to have this kind of view, it's a good thing.”
Last Monday’s open house was the next step in a process that dates back to early 2012, when Aspen View asked permission from the government to plan a replacement for the aging Edwin Parr Composite (EPC) School.
The lengthy journey to this point hasn’t been a smooth one.
“There's a lot of politics involved with a new school because there's a lot of money involved … where that money is and how it's being spent,” said Duane Fitzsimmons, an Aspen View parent, at the open house. “There's certain things that come up that are controversial, and I hope it doesn't drag the process out too much, because it adds eventually to the costs.”
Fitzsimmons said he hoped the open house would put some of the issues to rest because “people can see the choices that are being made are good ones.”
It seemed to be working, too. Athabasca resident Eziah Paul seemed to be rather impressed with the proposed design.
“I think it's a good improvement to the old school,” he said. “I think it's a great thing to be coming into the community, especially with the design that is one of a kind.”
He particularly liked the extra space that’s been added on for individual learning.
“(I like the) open spaces where a student can come out of the classroom and learn on their own, or if they have a spare they have a place they can go that's quiet or accessible to internet,” he continued.
New EPC principal Desmond Nolan agreed.
“The new school project is phenomenal,” said Nolan. “The educational environment that it's going to create for Athabasca is tremendous … I think they've done a really good job designing and planning it.”
On the other hand, Irene believed the project needed some work — particularly about the actual design process.
“I still think that there is more discussion to have with parents and the public,” she said. “It's just a catch-up process. We have all these schematics — and fairly detailed schematics — but when we haven't been privy to a lot of it, it's about catch up; it's not about a judgment of good or bad.”
Her biggest concern was whether the students would be in the “brick and mortar” of the school itself.
“They have some modulars for auxiliary instruction space and potential classroom spaces,” she continued. “As parents, we are interested and hoping … for all of those grades to be encompassed within the bricks and mortar.”
According to school board members, although there was some discussion on community involvement, the open house went off without a hitch.
“It was quite a diverse crowd, from the students and parents to some of the older folks in our community, so it was a good turnout,” said secretary/treasurer Rodney Boyko at the school board meeting on Thursday. “(The architects) had their notebooks there and they were listening (in) on the conversation, and had a number of things that they're looking at taking back.”
