By TERRY PUGH
A new school year is underway, but so far, there’s little progress on a final decision regarding the site of a future joint-use regional high school for the Warman-Martensville area.
Warman City Council is not convinced that two proposed general locations along Township Road 384 (one near the intersection with Range Road 3052 and the other near Range Road 3051) are in the best interests of its residents.
Warman City Councillors cite ongoing concerns over transportation and utility servicing costs, as well as accessibility, safety and daily commute times.
Meanwhile, the City of Martensville, Prairie Spirit School Division (PSSD), RM of Corman Park, and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) have all expressed support for the proposed locations.
WHEN DID IT ALL START?
The proposal for a new joint-use regional high school was first submitted by PSSD and GSCS in March, 2022.
The two school divisions filed a joint application to the Ministry of Education in support of the project. The application noted the proposed regional high school could see a combined capacity, at full build-out, of about 1,000 students in both the public and Catholic schools. The application also stated that the new high school is needed “within three to five years” based on projected growth of enrolment in both Martensville and Warman.
At that time, the City of Warman, City of Martensville and RM of Corman Park signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding supporting the application, and agreeing to pursue discussions leading up to a conceptual design.
CRACKS START TO SHOW
In November, 2022, however, several Warman City Councillors expressed concern over the proposed location. Warman City Council passed a resolution on November 28, 2022, to withhold support for the application “until further details and a comprehensive area study of the region could be presented for council’s consideration.”
The application, meanwhile, was re-submitted virtually unchanged by the school divisions in 2023 and 2024, and was eventually approved by the Ministry of Education. In March, 2025, the Ministry of Education announced that the project was at the top of its list of capital projects.
In May, 2025, Warman City Council issued a news release outlining its ongoing concerns about the proposed location of the new school. Councillors suggested building it within Warman city limits would be more efficient, increase safety and reduce transportation costs.
That same month, a campaign called the ‘Future Forward for Warman Coalition’ was launched by members of the public in an effort to convince Warman City Council to support the proposed school location on Township Road 384 between the two cities.
DISCUSSIONS ONGOING:
In June, 2025, several meetings were held between Warman City Council and the PSSD, Future Forward for Warman Coalition, the RM of Corman Park, GSCS, and Hon. Terry Jenson, Minister of Social Services and MLA for Warman on the issue.
On July 2, 2025, Warman City Council sent a letter to provincial Education Minister Everett Hindley, stating that while the city “remains committed to supporting the development of a joint-use high school that meets the needs of our growing community…the majority of Council does not support the proposed location of the joint-use high school within the designated node area.” The letter went on to ask a series of specific questions, including: the cost of municipal servicing to the proposed site, future infrastructure for transportation, legal and financial account, and the public consultation process.
The Warman City Council letter also requested the Minister to “visit both the established location at 3052/384 and the most recently recommended location at 3051/384. A site visit will provide valuable firsthand insight into the issues that have influenced Council’s position.”
At the August 25 meeting of Warman City Council, a letter of response dated August 21, 2025, was received from the Minister of Education in which he stated that the Ministry intends to review the application for a new joint-use middle-high school in the Warman-Martensville area “for consideration in 2026-27 and balanced against other school infrastructure priorities in the province.” The Minister’s letter did not contain any direct answers to the questions posed by Warman City Council in the July 2 letter.
LETTER ‘DISMISSIVE’
During discussion at the August 25 Warman City Council meeting, Councillor Marshall Seed said he was disappointed with the Minister’s response, noting he felt the Minister was evasive.
Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk said the Minister’s letter had a “dismissive” tone that failed to suggest any options which could help overcome the current impasse.
Councillor Richard Beck agreed, saying it appeared the province was tossing the ball back to the municipalities and school divisions instead of taking a leadership role.
PSSD OUTLINES POSITION:
On August 27, two days after the Warman City Council meeting, the Prairie Spirit School Division issued a letter of response to the questions raised by city council.
The PSSD letter stated that families in Warman and Martensville were surveyed back in 2022.
“The feedback highlighted the preference for a large composite school in a central location with enhanced programming,” stated the PSSD letter. “We heard that parents want more options for students, including training for careers in the trades and other specialized programs. This feedback helped Prairie Spirit create the plan for a proposed regional joint-use school.
“The proposed school would be an effective way to address the continued growth in Warman, Martensville and the RM of Corman Park and the need for additional school spaces for both Prairie Spirit School Division and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. This school would meet the needs of the communities with the potential for expanded programming for students with opportunities like those offered at Saskatoon high schools.”
The PSSD letter went on to note that the application was made jointly with GSCS because joint applications are given priority by the Ministry of Education. “The application is currently at the top of the Ministry’s capital project priority list,” stated the PSSD letter. “This signals that the Ministry considers this a strong application. The support of all local municipalities would make this application stronger.”
The PSSD letter states that the provincial government will provide funding to transport students to the proposed regional joint-use high school.
It adds that the current Warman High School, which is currently close to capacity, cannot expand into the Great Plains College space in the same building because of an agreement that was made between the two institutions 20 years ago when Warman High School was expanded. In that agreement, Great Plains College contributed to the construction costs of its space during the renovation.
The PSSD letter states that the proposed site on Township Road 384 is “based on two studies funded by the local municipalities through the local partnership: Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G). Prairie Spirit and Greater Saskatoon Catholic have accepted the location proposed in the P4G Regional Node study and have not considered an alternative location as the regional joint-use high school would serve students in the area, not just one specific community.”
The PSSD letters concludes that the new school would create more classroom space for both school divisions with the potential to offer enhanced learning opportunities for students.