Growing school division asks for new high school

The Hanover School Division has officially asked the Province for a new high school. 

At the board meeting this month, Superintendent Shelley Amos said they submitted a capital plan including a request for another secondary school. 

“The SRSS is the largest high school in Manitoba, both in square footage and population-wise,” Amos noted. “We are outgrowing that space there; it is its own little city, and we need to have another school.” 

The division has not indicated any specifics about their request. 

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen says this is a great opportunity for the Province to interact with the community. 

“At one time, before the SRSS was expanded to its current size, there was talk of potentially building a separate school with vocational programs within that. I don't know if that's the right solution or if they're looking to add on to this property, but I think they should engage with the community and have that discussion.” 

The SRSS is nearing capacity. It can hold 2,200 students and enrollment was around 2,000 at the start of the current school year. 

“It’s very different than when I was at the SRSS in the 1980s, and it’s only going to continue to grow based on the population projections we have in the region.” 

Goertzen says now is the time to get input from the community. 

“This would be a prime opportunity for the current education minister to start engaging with the community, and say, ‘We know we're going to have to build at some point, relatively soon, another secondary school. Does it make sense to have a separate vocational school? Does it make sense to add on to the existing property? 

“I don't know exactly what the answer to that would be,” Goertzen adds, “and I wouldn't want to prescribe an answer without community engagement. But I think they should start that community engagement now because at some point, they're going to be forced into a decision where they don't have a lot of time to make the decision because of overcapacity, and that's not a good way to make a decision.” 

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