It was good news for Riverview Collegiate at Tuesday's meeting of the Prairie South School Division board.
After deferring its decision in June as to whether the South Hill high school would be closed and converted into an elementary school, the board made its decision Tuesday night.
In a news release sent out Wednesday, the board said after careful consideration of the feedback received from the South Hill community, it was decided the best solution was to convert Riverview into a Grade 7-12 facility.
The feedback and protests the PSSD heard from community members were the results of recommendations made for the division's long-range facilities plan.
In the original recommendation put forth by Stantec Consulting - a Regina-based company the division hired to develop its long-range plan - it recommended the board close the high school and send the students to one of the other two public high schools, which are located on the north side of the city.
As well, the plan suggested the division convert Riverview into a large elementary school and close the other two public elementary schools located on South Hill - Westmount and Empire.
When this proposal was brought to the attention of the South Hill community, a group called Save Our Schools was formed and its objective was to stop the school closures.
The suggestion that Riverview become a Grade 7 to Grade 12 school was that of the Save Our Schools committee.
In the release, Gord Stewart, the PSSD board chairman said, "When we undertook the long-range facility plan process, we all agreed that we wanted to include ample opportunity for community input and feedback.
"We heard the feedback, considered it carefully and ultimately took it into account," Stewart added
The board chairman said not all South Hill community members will approve of the board's decision.
However, he said when the board was making its decision it felt there were two very different messages being sent by the community - one that the community wants a high school on South Hill and the other that the students prefer the other two high schools in the city.
"There are approximately 180 students who are residents of South Hill who are going to different schools. So that message is telling us they don't want a high school."
Stewart said to remove any confusion, the board's next step would be to talk to the school community council, the faculty at the school and then the public to hear and discuss what it is they want.
Lyndsay McCready can be reached at 691-1256.
