The school district has taken a step to alleviate the concerns of Highglen Montessori elementary parents about getting their children to their new home on the other side of the city, saying a shuttle service will be in place on Monday.
"Students will be bussed from Highglen to Gladstone each morning and back to Highglen at the end of the school day," officials said in a press release issued shortly before noon Wednesday.
"Staff will be on site at Highglen to supervise the arrival and departure of students."
As well, the shuttle will be in place through to the end of the school year.
A fire Monday forced the closure of Highglen and sent officials scrambling to find a new home large enough to keep the school's 250 students and staff together. The old Gladstone school, among the seven schools that trustees chose to close in 2002, will be reopened, but it's located 10 kilometres away in College Heights.
Locations closer to Highglen were considered, including Lac des Bois and Central Fort George, but they lacked enough classroom space to hold the school's 10 divisions, school district superintendent Brian Pepper said.
Even if Central Fort George was large enough, he said the building has mechanical problems that would have made reopening the now closed school impossible in a short timeframe.
"I would say we looked at 10 different options - some schools, some partial schools, etcetera - and then tried to look at them from a number of different timelines - short-term, mid-term, long-term," Pepper said.
"What we don't want to do is move them somewhere and then a month later move them somewhere and then three months later move them somewhere. We wanted to establish a school as quickly as we could and we're hoping that will serve us for the time we need."
Work has been ongoing to get Gladstone ready for students after it was converted into a district resource centre. Reestablishing the classrooms, making sure the electrical is in working order and bringing in furniture are on the task list.
"It's monstrous, there are thousands of things to do, but we're checking them off one at a time and moving forward," Pepper said.
Although the timeline is much tighter, Pepper said the situation is similar to summer 2010 when several schools were closed down or reconfigured in time for the new school year.
"In that sense, we have been 'emergency tested' I guess you might say," Pepper said.
As for Highglen, Pepper said a fence will be put up around the school to keep out trespassers for the time being while the extent of the damage is being determined.
"It's quite a toxic environment in there," Pepper said.
An information meeting for parents remains scheduled for 5 p.m. today in the gym at Prince George Secondary School.
