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Saskatoon Public Schools
Inspiring Learning
Site Selection

June 1, 2021

The Saskatoon Board of Education has approved the site of Princess Alexandra School as the location for the City Centre Project.

At a meeting held June 1, trustees rescinded a motion passed on May 11 that called for further consideration of the Optimist Park site for the City Centre Project. In its place, trustees approved Princess Alexandra as the location of the new school. The new facility will bring together the school communities of King George, Pleasant Hill and Princess Alexandra, with potential partners providing additional supports for students and families.

"When building a new school, we are making a commitment to the community for generations," said Board Chair Colleen MacPherson. "Trustees wanted to give appropriate time and consideration to the best possible location for our new school. In the end, we agreed the Princess Alexandra site provides an optimal location for a supportive learning facility that welcomes community partners to provide wrap-around services for our students and families."

While the Princess Alexandra site was the original proposed location for the new school, the board expanded consideration to other sites after hearing feedback from the community. Along with the Princess Alexandra site, the board carefully studied Optimist Park, which is owned by the City of Saskatoon. The school division would have required approval from City Council to build a new school at Optimist Park.

"After looking carefully at Optimist Park and reviewing all the feedback we've received about both potential sites, our board agreed the Princess Alexandra site is the best location. This site has been a home to students for almost 60 years, provides great potential for community partnerships, and aligns with both our vision and the ambitious schedule for this project," said MacPherson.

As the design stage moves forward, opportunities for engagement with students, families, Elders and the community will continue in the coming weeks and months. 

May 12, 2021

The Saskatoon Board of Education approved a motion at its May 11 meeting to continue exploring Optimist Park as a potential location for a new school to serve the King George, Pleasant Hill and Princess Alexandra school communities.

Trustees passed a motion to continue consideration of Optimist Park as an alternate location for the City Centre Project, and for administration to inform both the City of Saskatoon and the Ministry of Education, and report back to the board with regards to next steps.

“Our board is determined to find the best location for serving the students and families of these three schools. We want to give appropriate consideration to Optimist Park, which could provide a central location for this new school community,” said Board Chair Colleen MacPherson.

Optimist Park is owned by the City of Saskatoon. The school division would require approval from City Council to build a new school at the location.

April 23, 2021

Saskatoon Public Schools is completing site validation studies of Optimist Park and the Princess Alexandra School site to look at how suitable each property may be for building the new school that will serve the neighbourhoods of King George, Pleasant Hill, Riversdale and West Industrial.

As part of this process "test fits" have been prepared for each site. A test fit is not a school design – it is simply to provide an idea of where a school building could be located on each property, along with other features, such as the childcare centre, outdoor learning and recreational spaces, parking, and bus and drop-off areas. Some of the test fits also include space for the Saskatoon Tribal Council, which may partner with the school division on this project. The test fits document can be viewed here.

Members of the school communities and the general public are invited to review the test fits to get an idea of where the new school could be located and share their thoughts with the Board of Education as part of the site validation process. Feedback can be shared in one of the following ways:

April 1, 2021

Saskatoon Public Schools is building a new school that, along with community partners, will serve the King George, Pleasant Hill and Princess Alexandra school communities The school division consulted with the City of Saskatoon and considered feedback from the community to identify possible sites for the new school. Seven sites were identified, and each was reviewed based on several criteria, including site size, provincial and municipal regulations, land acquisition, health and safety, and location. The full communication shared with school communities, including summarized information for each site, can be found here.

The seven identified sites included in the review are:
  1. Princess Alexandra School
  2. Optimist Park
  3. King George School
  4. Parcel P (515 Avenue N South)
  5. 19th and 20th site
  6. Columbian Place
  7. 425 Avenue P South
The provincial government has committed $29 million to build the new school. Funds for renovating an existing school, purchasing land for a new school or environmental clean-up were not provided in the budget for the project.

Following the preliminary review, the Board of Education requested comprehensive site validation studies on two sites: Princess Alexandrea School and Optimist Park. Public engagement is part of the site validation process.