F.H. Collins Secondary School will not be moving to a new location in Copper Ridge, says David Sloan, director of area 2 with the Department of Education.

There was confusion at last night's public meeting regarding the future of the high school and whether the project was connected with to Falcon Drive property set aside for a new school in Copper Ridge, Sloan said in an interview this morning.

The potential of a new Copper Ridge school and the possibility of completely rebuilding the territory's oldest high school are not the same, he said.

'They are not linked at all,' said Sloan.

He added the lot is not big enough for a high school that caters to industrial arts and shop courses like F.H. Collins.

If a high school were to be built on the Copper Ridge property, it would be small and designed to accommodate approximately 400 students, said Sloan.

The department is also examining the possibility of building a kindergarten to Grade 7 facility at the location.

Wednesday night's public meeting, held at F.H. Collins, was part of a $69,000 study being conducted for the government by Victoria-based HoldFast Consultants.

The sole-sourced contract, which was awarded in November, is examining what kind of school is needed in Copper Ridge as well as the future of F.H. Collins.

The main questions regarding the high school are if it should be rebuilt or refurbished, said Sloan.

Approximately 60 Yukoners attended the meeting with questions about the potential location for the school if it is moved, the level of facilities that would be provided and the types of courses, said Sloan.

There were varying views on whether the school should be moved, with several Riverdale residents in attendance expressing their desire to keep the facility in their community, he said.

What the community members mostly wanted to hear were reassurances about the locale and the facility, said Sloan.

Now is the time to look into updating F.H. Collins, said Sloan, adding the building has surpassed its usable life expectancy by about three years.

It was originally built in 1963 but has been added to over the decades.

The student numbers have dropped and the numerous additions of wings have made the building cumbersome and maze-like, he said.

Energy consumption, maintenance and the need for a school that size for a reduced number of students are all issues that are being examined, he said.

Rebuilding the school, however, does not mean the programs offered or the facility itself would be downgraded in any way, he said.

'All the facilities we've built in recent years are very high-quality and very inclusive,' he said. 'That's not a fear people should have.'

But there are a lot of reasons to keep the school where it is, said Wendy Boothroyd, a member of F.H. Collin's school council.

'It's important to have a dynamic downtown core and having a school down here is a part of that,' said Boothroyd.

F.H. Collins' location currently enables Riverdale and downtown students to walk to-and-from classes and part-time jobs, it's right next to student residences and has a beautiful location next to the Yukon River, she said.

It also provides the city's only industrial arts wing, Boothroyd added.

The meeting was 'very, very preliminary' in nature, said Sloan.

It was meant to provide parents and community members an opportunity to voice their concerns, he said, and to allow HoldFast to get a better understanding of the issues surrounding the school.

The meeting was the first of several, which will include talking with a variety of stakeholders, school councils and the City of Whitehorse, said Sloan.

The consultations, however, are coming into conflict with the city's preoccupation with the Canada Winter Games, which will be taking place from Feb. 23 until March 10, said Sloan.

So scheduling has been pushed back into March, with an initial report expected to be presented to government some time in April, he added.

HoldFast is currently in the city collecting baseline data. It has left demographic surveys in the possession of F.H. Collins for any community members interested in providing further input on the future of the school.