Elementary school to see expanded gymnasium
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- Published on Monday, March 23, 2015
By Kate Jackman-Atknison
The Neepawa Banner
The Pine Creek School Division announced last week plans to move ahead with the long awaited expansion of the Gladstone Elementary School gymnasium. Division superintendent Brian Gouriluk explained that the board has been talking about this project for close to 20 years and the timing was right this year to make the expansion a reality. In this coming year’s budget, the division created a reserve fund to designate funds for the project.
Gouriluk explained that the gym is undersized, even for a kindergarten to Grade 8 school– it’s only large enough for one badminton court and can’t even house a full volleyball court. When the gym was initially built, it included one temporary wall, with the idea that the gymnasium could be expanded later. That expansion never happened. “It’s long awaited,” said Gouriluk.
The timing was right for the planned expansion as the division got word from the Public School Finance Board that they were proposing a major renovation to the school’s roof. “It’s an ideal time to work together on cost sharing the expansion,” said Gouriluk.
Gouriluk said that the plan is that the repairs to the rest of the roof will begin this summer, while the re-roofing of the gym will take place once the area is expanded in 2016. He said that doing the project at this time, when there is already a capital project underway, is more cost effective.
The exact plans for the expanded gym, as well as the cost, have yet to be determined. However, it is expected that the space will be large enough to accommodate a full basketball court.
The gymnasiums at both William Morton Collegiate and GES are well used by the community and Gouriluk said that the community as a whole will benefit from the expansion. “It will help take the pressure off of the one at the high school,” he said. A larger gym as GES will also help the high school by providing more court space that can be used for tournaments.
“It’s long awaited. The students and staff are very excited,” said Gouriluk.
