Groundbreaking ceremony for Coaldale joint school and recreation centre

The Town of Coaldale had a groundbreaking ceremony for Coaldale's joint school and recreation centre on Friday, September 10.

By Jaxon McGinn

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sunny South News

The Town of Coaldale had a groundbreaking ceremony for Coaldale’s joint school and recreation centre Sept. 10.

Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf, Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter, Coaldale Deputy Mayor Bill Chapman, Superintendent Dave Driscoll from Palliser Regional Schools, and Mayor Kim Craig attended the groundbreaking ceremony and several other representatives involved in this project.

Once completed, the school and recreation centre will stand out as a unique, one-of-a-kind facility with opportunities for both community programming and investment from local businesses.

The new school will see a grade reconfiguration to accommodate Grades 7-12 and will feature a drama theatre and access to the recreation centre gymnasium. The recreation centre is designed to accommodate a variety of community programming. It will be the new home to Twisted Steel — a local fitness centre, and a new daycare provider.

This project began in 2017 with many trustees developing a plan. The goal was to provide students with a better learning space and more opportunities for their future.

The Town of Coaldale and Palliser School Division had received funding from the Government of Alberta to build the new school.

“This is going to be a phenomenal project. When I first was presented and talked about it, I thought ‘wow, this is some real innovation there.’ An opportunity to have the community’s needs meet, and our students’ needs met — all at the same time,” said Hunter.

“Council is amazing. You’ve been supportive, and you’ve been rocks through a lot of stuff this term. I’m very thrilled to say we would not be here without all the background work Town of Coaldale administration put into this and all the administration who did all of this and did all the prep work,” said Craig. “I believe we’re going to have courses in early childcare and wetland management and so many other things.”

Get More Sunny South News →