The Strathcona Standard

By Grant Warkentin

With the province finally committed to funding repairs at Carihi Secondary School, the school district is preparing to fix the fire-damaged gym over summer.

Jennifer Patrick, communications manager for School District 72, says the district is now working on selecting an architect and lining up contractors for the gym repairs, and for the reconstruction of A wing.

The repairs are being split into two projects: gym repairs, which will start as soon as possible, and the new A wing, which still requires some planning and prep work before construction can get started.

Last week at the school board’s regular meeting Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Patrick told trustees that the new wing will have some improvements over what was destroyed in the November, 2024 fire, included an improved cafeteria.

“With the new funding amounts, we should be able to have a separate eating area in the multipurpose room, so there’s a bit of an enhancement there,” he said.

It won’t be fancy.

“We’ve got some very strict guidelines. The new build portion will be done in lockstep with ministry staff. They will be able to monitor that to release funds,” Patrick said.

Thanks to public pressure from the Carihi Parent Advisory Committee, the province finally committed funding to fix the fire damage earlier this spring. Money for gym repairs is now in place with A wing reconstruction funding on the way.

“We know there’s been a very public, um, challenge with some of the speed of [repairing the fire damage], and we’re trying to make sure our community is informed as best as we can,” Patrick said. “Lots of work will be occurring over summer and of course there will be a lot more information to share as we move along.”

The school district has committed to provide updates about the gym repairs and the reconstruction of A wing throughout the summer and fall.

Featured image: Google Street View captured what the Carihi gym and A wing looked like in October 2024, just one month before a fire caused by spontaneous combustion did millions of dollars in damage.