September 10, 2014
Province Announces Investment in New Daycare Spaces as Construction of New Gym, Child-care Facility Nears Completion
A new gym at George Fitton School in Brandon will help encourage students to get active and participate in sports while expanding the school’s instructional space, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today.
“Students need quality learning spaces to succeed in school and gyms are no exception,” said Minister Allum. “This new space will encourage and enable students to get active and participate in sports while expanding George Fitton’s instructional area so they can offer more programs to students.”
George Fitton School is a kindergarten to Grade 8 school with an enrolment of 474 students. The new project consists of a 4,000-sq.-ft. gymnasium, a kitchenette, new change rooms, and a new gym instructor’s office and storage room. The total area is 8,934 sq. ft., which will link to the existing school.
The new, 6,092-sq.-ft., stand-alone child-care facility is on school grounds and will provide 74 new child-care spaces to the Brandon community for preschool, pre-kindergarten-aged children and infants. Once completed, the new child-care facility will receive over $400,000 in annual operating funds, the minister said.
“With the addition of this new facility, more parents in Brandon will have access to the reliable child care they need to be able to work and support their families,” said Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross. “High-quality child care is a priority for families and it’s a priority for this government.”
Once the new gym is complete, the old gym will be renovated to support smaller class sizes, creating two new classrooms and providing more washroom space, Minister Allum said, adding the province invested more than $6.4 million in the new gym and child-care facility,
Funding for the new gym comes from the province’s $50-million Active Schools Fund. Since 2011, the fund has provided financial support to 14 schools to build or renovate gym space. Since 1999, the Manitoba government has invested over $1 billion in public school capital projects, the minister said.
The new gym and child-care facility are expected to be completed by December of this year, Minister Allum added.
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