Skip to content

Quesnel’s new junior school still on budget, plans get approved to continue

Demolition of the old Quesnel Junior School also continues to be on time and on budget
20996580_web1_200320-QCO-QJS-update_1
The demolition of the old Quesnel Junior School in North Quesnel is on track and on budget, and the school district recently received a financial boost from the company doing the demolition work. (Quesnel Cariboo Observer file photo)

Before the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold, there was excitement at the Quesnel School District offices, as the district’s plans for a new Quesnel Junior School (QJS) continue to move forward.

School District secretary-treasurer Jennifer Woollends provided an update on plans for the new school at the March 11 board of education meeting.

“The new school is going really well,” she said. “The architects have been really great to date, and the consultants have been really good.”

In early March, project manager Scott Thomson attended meetings with CHP Architects in Chilliwack, and QJS principal Suzanne Bolin listened in on the phone, and Woollends says those meetings were very productive, as they were able to get a number of things sorted out.

The school district is at the 30-per-cent mark for the project, which means it went to the cost adjuster, explained Woollends.

“We did get that back, and we are in budget, and we did get approval from the ministry to keep going and go to the next phase,” she said.

The school district is hoping to reveal the designs for the new Quesnel Junior School, which will be built at the site of the current Maple Drive Junior Secondary School, in April.

Woollends told trustees the demolition of the old QJS building is also moving along smoothly — and it has even brought with it an exciting financial boost to the district.

“The demolition of QJS is going well; it’s on timeline and on budget still,” she said.

The company that is doing the demolition work, Clearview Demolition, hosted a garage sale at the site in February, and they donated the proceeds of that sale back to the school district.

“They gave us a cheque for $5,500, which was super generous of them, and they didn’t need to do it, so it is really, really appreciated,” said Woollends. “The school district has decided to use that donation to provide hardship funds to students in need to participate in school activities.”

READ MORE: Quesnel is getting a new junior school