School Board changes name of new learning centre

The Enerplex Learning Centre is no more.

On Monday night, School District 60 voted in favour of renaming the centre to the Energetic Learning Campus of North Peace Secondary School.

The facility will be housed within the – also recently renamed – Pomeroy Sport Centre in Fort St. John. It is expected to accommodate between 170 and 200 grade 10 students, along with seven teachers, in its first year. Afterwards, students in other grades may also be able to attend the campus, depending on the District’s needs, says School District 60 Superintendant Larry Espe.

The project is expected to cost $2,495,200, plus taxes, and a tender has been awarded to Hegge Construction Ltd. out of Dawson Creek. That amount, however, is dependent on change orders. Espe says change orders are imposed if the School Board decides to alter something with the design of the space during construction.

Construction on the learning campus is expected to be completed by September, but Espe says the Board has both short- and longer-term contingency plans in place in case construction is not fully finished by Sept.1.

A B.C. Ministry of Education sign will be up at the Pomeroy Sport Centre during construction. The sign will indicate the space is helping to alleviate kindergarten space problems. Espe says he wants to ensure residents know the space is not being used for kindergarten students, but the money going into the construction was allotted for providing space to kindergarten students, which has been done. He says grade 10 students will move into the Learning Campus, opening up space for grade 7 students at the middle schools, who are then being replaced by full-day kindergarten students in the elementary schools.