A new report looking at the state of Saskatchewan Rivers School Division facilities shows the schools are in good shape, but aging infrastructure could cause problems in the future.
The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division board received their annual Accountability Report on Facilities at their regular meeting on Monday. The Facilities or Plant Operations budget of $7.3 million includes Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) funding and capital expenditures.
Superintendent of Facilities Derek Blais prepared the report for Monday’s meeting. Afterwards, Director of Education Neil Finch said the buildings are in great condition, but there are concerns.
“Our facilities are in great shape, but it’s because of the preventative pieces that we do for our facilities,” Finch explained. “The concern is that we have aging facilities, and as time goes on, our preventative maintenance won’t be able to keep up.
“I would say we’re proud of the state of our facilities, but we’re concerned about funding as time goes on for preventative maintenance and even major capital projects,” he added.
According to the report, the current deferred maintenance backlog and facility renewal requirement for buildings in Saskatchewan Rivers is roughly $115 million to $120 million. The replacement value for the division’s assets is estimated at around $780 million to $785 million.
Based on these values, the overall Facility Condition Index (FCI) is ‘poor’ or approximately 20 per cent according to industry standards. The FCI is defined as the ratio of the cost to address the deferred maintenance backlog to the current replacement value of the assets.
The report states that without adequate funding, the conditions of the buildings will continue to decline into the ‘Critical’ stage over time.
Finch said that current funding levels slow the rate of deterioration, but will not eliminate it.
The report states that the current annual estimated funding of approximately $5.45 million extends the life of buildings in the division but does not stabilize overall asset condition.
The newest Sask. Rivers building is 22 years old, while the oldest is 112. Over half of the buildings were constructed prior to 1970 while the remaining buildings were built between 1970 and 2012. The division will also be constructing a new joint school in Shellbrook with plans to be announced in the future.
Schools built in the 1960s are called “Baby Boomer Schools” and were constructed hastily all over the province. Those schools are now in their second life cycle, and the chance of getting a third out of them is “very slim.” The report states that as these facilities continue to age the demand for maintenance and capital renewal will continue to increase,
The division has replaced items like windows, rooves, and mechanical systems, but Hurd said sewer systems could become a problem at these schools because the piping is in the concrete slabs.
Finch credited the staff in the department for keeping the schools in good shape. He said they are great at staying on top of developing issues but that cycle cannot carry on forever.
“We’re very proactive, but at some point, it’s going to be concerning with our aging facilities,” Finch said.
The Ministry of Education provides funding through the PMR program each year. The board approves a new PMR three-year plan each year in June.
The facilities budget is broken down into 45 per cent building operating expenses, 18 per cent amortization, 35 per cent salaries and two per cent other. Facilities currently employees 65 full time equivalent caretaking staff, 14 maintenance staff and three supervisors and support staff. Caretakers are assigned based on size of facilities. For example, Carlton has three full time staff assigned due to the size of the building.
According to the report they are averaging about 390 service requests a month. These are reviewed quarterly to make sure targets are met. Service requests are submitted electronically through Asset Planner software by administration and caretakers.
PMR projects are based on square footage of facilities. The division received $3,452,330 in 2024-2025.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
