Nanton Schools Advisory Committee Update - October 2024

The Nanton Schools Advisory Committee, consisting of Livingstone Range School Division (LRSD) Administration and Trustees, Town of Nanton Council members, the Municipal District of Willow Creek, and the Municipal District of Ranchland, met on October 3, 2024.

We are nearing the end of the Design Development stage and GGA Architects are currently working with their engineers on preparing construction documents.  We are pleased to share the following design highlights: 

Elementary School

• The Learning Commons, with big windows, will be the signature space of the elementary school.
• The space has currently been designed to support the inclusion of an early learning program. 
• The layout of the school along with removable glass walls into the gymnasium and learning commons area will support community use after school hours. 
• Other areas of the school will be able to be closed off during community use.
• Traffic congestion in front of the schools will be reduced with the bus-only parking lane in between the schools. 

Junior/Senior High School

• An open gathering area off the gym, learning commons, and commercial kitchen will enhance school programming, extra-curricular experience, and community use. 
• Other spaces designed and updated specifically for their intended use such as Construction, Mechanics, Fabrication, Foods, Band, and Science will also enhance student educational experiences. 
• Additional student spaces inside and outside of the school will support student wellbeing and learning. 
• A parking area and entrance for students and staff will provide safety and convenience.

While the designs are subject to Government of Alberta funding approval, we will release design images by October 18 on the LRSD website for public viewing.

Part of every capital project involves cost-cutting measures to align the project within the resources that have been approved by the Province.  This project has gone through a similar process and where it has made sense to the design committee, less expensive materials were agreed to.  However, the Livingstone Range School Division Admin team has consistently pushed back to ensure the Nanton Schools are not receiving less than what is provided to schools in an urban setting, even if the costs to build in a rural community are higher. We will continue to push back against budget restrictions so that our students have the same top-notch facilities found in Alberta's larger cities.

Regarding decanting, Committee members have successfully met with community partners to determine potential sites. It has been an overwhelmingly positive experience during these visits to see that the community organizations are open to supporting this initiative.  As such, it looks very promising that we will have enough decanting space in the community to allow us to work on both schools at the same time, thereby completing the project faster.  There is still work to do and after we determine sites and use agreements, a decanting plan will be shared publicly.  We are grateful to the community groups of Nanton for their willingness to support this initiative.  

The next Nanton School Advisory Committee meeting will be held on November 21, 2024. For project information and a visual timeline of the New and Modernized Nanton Schools visit www.lrsd.ca/nantonschools.