LRSD getting funding from province to finish new school capacity issues continue

A 900-student Sage Creek school is set to open fall 2025. (Louis Riel School Division/YouTube)

A school division will not have to take out a multi-million dollar loan to ensure a new school opens in time.

Louis Riel School Division’s new Sage Creek Bonavista School is set to open for the 2025-26 school year after receiving the much-needed funds to finish construction.

“The Louis Riel School Division has received approval from the provincial government for the final tender package. With this approval, the provincial government has committed to covering the full cost of construction,” said Christian Michalik, the superintendent of the school division, in a statement on the division’s website.

The 900-student French immersion K-8 school will now welcome Sage Creek and Bonavista residents in the fall of 2025.

The division previously warned it may need to take out a loan, up to $10 million, to pay for it after possible funding issues once construction had already begun.

On Tuesday night, LRSD’s board voted to approve a promissory note to the tender to ensure it will open in time.

École Sage Creek School facing capacity pressures

The funding comes as LRSD’s École Sage Creek School continues to deal with enrollment pressures, forcing English students in Grades 5 to 8 and French immersion students in Grades 7 and 8 to schools outside of Sage Creek for years. In a statement made on LRSD’s website, it said since January, any new Grade 3 or 4 students have been sent to Shamrock School.

It also said any new English kindergarten students will be sent to Shamrock School until a new elementary school at 315 Sage Creek Blvd opens.

As of the end of May, new registrations for Kindergarten French immersion students are being directed to École Guyot until Sage Creek Bonavista School opens.