At more than 70 years old, Whitehorse’s oldest school is slated to be replaced, but its future is unclear.

The Yukon government announced Friday that École Whitehorse Elementary School is at the top of the list of education facilities to be replaced.

The school is the oldest in the city, and likely one of the oldest in the Yukon.It has not been designated as an historical site. It does not appear on the city registry,

The announcement was made by Education Minister Jeanie McLean and Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke.

“The first step in our long-term school replacement plan is rebuild Whitehorse Elementary School,” McLean said.

“Over the years, it has played an important part in many students’ lives.

“First built in the 1950s, it stands as one of the oldest schools in Whitehorse. It means different things to different people. It has served hundreds and hundreds of students year after year, and its infrastructure has aged,” McLean added.

“The facility does not meet current and future programming needs, including access to spaces for inclusive and experiential learning,” McLean said.

“These reasons, among others, are why we have decided to close the school. Other considerations were the age and condition of the school.”

She said the new school will “provide a more functional and engaging facility” and a “better environment” for students and staff.

The new school will be built on the Takhini Land Reserve, very close to the existing Takhini Elementary School on Range Road. That school is also “a primary target for renovation or replacement,” McLean said.

The parcel of land there is large enough to accommodate two schools.

McLean said “there may be a variety of emotions tied to this announcement.

“I am excited to be moving forward, though. I am looking forward to taking these next steps together.”

Clarke said he was also “very excited” about the news.

His department is responsible for building and maintaining the school.

“Our two departments (Education and Public Works) looked together” at local schools, Clarke said.

“Whitehorse Elementary is near the end of its useful life. It is in fact the oldest school. It does not make economic sense to keep it open. The costs of renovating it are higher than the cost to build a new school.”

However, Clarke had no firm numbers on that when questioned by a reporter.

Instead, he said an assessment had been done on the school, which showed it would be 1.4 times more expensive to keep working the existing structure as compared to building a new one.

Clarke said the new school will be similar in size and cost to the new Whistle Bend school, which should be open by 2024. It could be slightly larger.

That project was originally estimated to fall within the $20-million to $25-million bracket to build – but is currently projected to cost more than $51 million.

The government has attributed that to supply problems and inflation, largely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A planning committee will be struck by the fall to consult with the public, especially First Nations, to discuss the process, McLean said.

No timeline for beginning or concluding construction was discussed.

It didn’t take long for reaction to the announcement to start rolling in.

NDP Leader Kate White is also the MLA for the Takhini neighbourhood where the school will be relocated.

She said she and her colleagues weren’t advised of the decision until after Friday’s announcement.

She isn’t happy about that, and has many questions as to how viable the concept is.

“It’s unfortunate we had no idea this was coming,” she told the Star this morning.

“We have concerns about the timeline, the traffic impact, and that we need a school in the downtown core.

“There’s been a real lack of consultation,” she added. “We have lots of questions.”

The opening of a new school is likely to increase traffic along Two Mile Hill and Mountainview Drive, which are already congested, as the current closure of Robert Service shows.

Scott Kent, the official Opposition education critic, said he “wasn’t surprised by the announcement, but that it’s disappointing as to how long the process has taken.”

He said the work to create a list and select a school for replacement has taken six years.

During the spring sitting of the legislature, the Yukon Party repeatedly asked the government which local school was targeted for replacement, but wasn’t given a specific answer.

Kent said he was told the school council at École Whitehorse Elementary and the one at Takhini Elementary were informed of the decision only an hour ahead by conference call.

“It’s a lack of consultation,” he said.

Kent was also critical of the government focusing on Whitehorse for a school replacement when there are rural schools, particularly at Ross River, in more immediate need of being replaced or renovated.

He said he wants to see the government’s list of schools needing attention, especially the rural ones.

The decision to locate the school on the reserve property in Takhini is also likely to have unexpected ripple effects.

The area in question encompasses the Takhini schools soccer fields as well as the nearby softball centre’s three fields, according to George Arcand, the president of Softball Yukon.

“The league will be destroyed if we lose those fields,” he told the Star this morning.

There’s almost no way the Pepsi Softball Centre won’t be affected by the new school, Arcand said.

As with the NDP, Arcand said he learned of the announcement via the news announcement. He has had no contact with the government over the project.

“I know exactly as much as everyone else,” he said. “I hope they will consult.”

No one from the Education department was available this morning to address Arcand’s concerns, and no one from the school council could be reached for comment.

Dana Tizya-Tramm, chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and chair of Chiefs Committee on Education, commented in a statement.

“For too long, public school students in the Yukon have been under the colonial system, depriving all Yukon students of the powerful educational pedagogies that Yukon First Nation culture has to offer,” Tizya-Tramm said.

“It is essential that a new First Nations school, with the infrastructure to reflect the distinct needs of the First Nation School Board, be built in the Whitehorse area to serve the students of the Yukon so they can thrive under two worldviews and flourish in a student-centred model of education.

“We strive for this work to honour our elders’ vision, as laid out in Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow and the self-government agreements that followed,” Tizya-Tramm added.

Dr. Alyce Johnson, a Kluane First Nation elder and member of the Interim Governance Committee of the First Nation School Board, said there is “a pressing need for a new First Nations School to be built in Whitehorse – to meet the needs of our Indigenous students – but also to promote reconciliation by offering a robust educational program offered through a Yukon First Nations pedagogy.

“As a youth signatory on Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow, and now as a member of the Interim Governance Committee of the First Nation School Board, I know that this school is a top priority to advance.”