Leaders say new Kashechewan school a 'relief,' but $15M short of perfect

It's been one year since Kashechewan students were forced out of the elementary school because of mouldy portables.

In August, 2018, Chief Leo Friday said community leaders decided portable classrooms should be shuttered, following an emergency meeting.

At the time, Friday said the portables were in poor condition and in violation of  building codes and health and safety requirements.

In May, work began on a new 16-room school, one that would house Kashechewan's 400 elementary students. It's expected to be open sometime this fall. 

Now, James Wesley, director of education of the Hishkoonikun Education Authority , says the community's new school is only half of what they wanted.

Wesley said leaders, including the elementary school's principal, drew up a wish list for the new building with a cost of approximately $30 million.

But Indigenous Services Canada was only able to give them $15 million, which means they had to cut their wish list in half.

"We had to cut down quite a few things to meet their budget," Wesley said. "So that's what we have. Our school was almost cut in half of what we wanted to see in our classrooms."

"For instance, we had to cut off our gym that was included in the drawing," Wesley said. "But we are going to be negotiating with Indian Affairs to have that built after our school is done."

Even with the budget cuts, the new school comes as a "relief" to leaders. Since September 2018, both elementary and secondary school students have been crammed into the high school, with elementary students using it from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and secondary students using it from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

"Whenever this situation comes up, it's the students that suffer the most," Wesley said. "So it's a relief after so many years, maybe 20 years, that they will be under the same roof because under the portable system, they were separated."