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GN to spruce up Iqaluit schools

Capital budget promises major funding for school renovations

DENISE RIDEOUT

Iqaluit’s Inuksuk High School will get a facelift, and the middle school, Aqsarniit Ilinniarvik, will double in size as part of the Nunavut department of education’s five-year capital plan.

Inuksuk will receive $19 million between 2003 and 2008 to undergo the first major renovation in its 31-year history. Aqsarniit will receive $7.5 million over the same period to increase the number of classrooms and expand its gym.

The funding is part of the Nunavut government’s 2003-04 capital estimates, introduced in the legislative assembly last month. For the second year, the GN has included a detailed five-year plan of capital expenditures as part of its projections for the coming fiscal year.

Of the department of education’s $24-million capital budget for 2003-04, $54,000 will go toward a technical review of Inuksuk High School. The review will include an examination of every nook and cranny of the building to determine what needs fixing.

"It’s really a re-working of the entire building," said Lorne Levy, capital planner for the department. "It’s a major renovation." While Inuksuk’s outer foundation is strong, its heating, plumbing and air circulation systems date back to 1971 when the school was built.

"This would be the first major renovation. It’s had some significant maintenance along the way. I guess it’s the oldest school now and it was just time," Levy said.

The Iqaluit District Education Authority, which oversees the city’s schools, agrees that Inuksuk needs a facelift. "Because of the antiquated plumbing at the high school, that’s why we had the big flood there two years ago that required the whole gym floor to be replaced," said Kathy Smith, chair of the IDEA.

On top of replacing the aging infrastructure, Inuksuk needs more space for students. The school population currently stands at about 500, but it won’t stay there for long. "The enrolments have grown dramatically," Levy said.

However, Nanulik MLA James Arvaluk, Nunavut’s former education minister, said that for the money it’s spending to renovate the high school, the GN could build a whole new school.

"Can we not build another high school with that $19 million?" he asked Peter Kilabuk, the current education minister, during a budget review process in the legislature on Nov. 21.

Levy said the education department already looked into that option. "Well the cost of building something that size would be much larger," he said.

Grade 8 coming to Aqsarniit

Students attending Aqsarniit Ilinniarvik will see their school grow dramatically in a few years’ time, as another 2,000 square metres is added to the 11-classroom, 2,450-square metre building.

"We’re coming close to doubling the size of the building," Levy said. The education department will spend $455,000 on the work between 2003 and 2004, and another $7.5 million between 2004 and 2008.

The new space will allow the school’s population to grow beyond its current 200 students to nearly 400.

Aqsarniit was originally intended for students in Grade 6, 7 and 8. But funding from the federal government wasn’t enough to accommodate that many students. Instead it was built for Grades 6 and 7 only.

The new section will allow Grade 8 students to move from the high school to Aqsarniit.

"It involves more classrooms — and not just regular classrooms, but we’re looking at things like a music area," Levy said. "We’re just at the process now of defining what they will be, but it could include things like an art classroom and a number of instructional areas."

As part of the work, the school’s gymnasium will also grow — to become a regulation-size gym.

The Iqaluit District Education Authority was behind the push for the addition to the middle school. "It was always part of our plan to have Aqsarniit expanded," Smith said.

"We looked at, from the DEA level, getting the most bang for our buck. And building an addition allows us to share the furnace room, the electrical systems, the plumbing systems. And so we don’t have to build all that new."

Smith, along with other members of the IDEA, education department officials and Aqsarniit staff are sitting on a committee that’s making plans for the expansion.

This year, the work is in the planning stage, next year it will proceed to the design stage, and construction will begin the following year, Smith said.

With major changes scheduled for two of Iqaluit’s schools, the education department hopes to make room for all the students expected in the capital city in the next few years.

"Although Aqsarniit is going to pull off some of the students, it’s the combination of doing Aqsarniit and Inuksuk that’s going to accommodate this community," Levy said.

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