School officials with St. Francis Junior High School and the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division announce planning funds to modernize or replace the school. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

St. Francis Junior High to be modernized or replaced, planning funds announced

Apr 10, 2025 | 11:11 AM

A school in Lethbridge that is old enough to qualify for retirement benefits will receive a significant facelift.

The Government of Alberta has announced $50,000 in funding for early planning work. In partnership with construction officials, the school will determine whether they should modernize the existing St. Francis Junior High or replace it with a completely new building.

Carmen Mombourquette, board chair of the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division, says this is “one of the best days of my life.”

“I’ve been associated with Holy Spirit School Division for well over 30 years and I [have] intimate knowledge of this building to be able to come to know these children are going to have a modern, fully-equipped, functional, safe building to come to school in just pleases me beyond belief,” says Mombourquette.

He describes the upcoming work as “a very in-depth building inspection” by a variety of tradespeople.

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“We have to answer questions like, even with a modernization, can this building and all areas within the building, particularly the basement areas, be made functional and safe? If the answer is no, then the most obvious is that we have to look at new construction.”

St. Francis first opened its doors in 1957, long before Grade 9 student Lachlan Calder ever graced its halls.

Calder was among a group of students who wrote to Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf last year, asking for a new school.

He says he and his classmates have had to navigate learning during multiple instances of leaking roofs, and a lack of air conditioning has made it tough to go to class on hot days.

Bringing their own water bottle to school is important because Calder says there are no water fountains, only water bottle fill-up stations.

He told attendees at Thursday morning’s funding announcement that it is hard to take pride in your school when the building is falling apart.

“It doesn’t really feel that good. Like, when you see all these other schools having this equipment, you don’t really feel that good as a school and as a community,” says Calder.

Students applaud as Lachlan Calder and others are heralded for advocating for this funding. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Principal Jackie Kraemer says St. Francis has many unique and innovative programs that would benefit from having dedicated, modern facilities, from the arts to e-sports, academics to athletics, and French immersion to First Nations, Metis and Inuit programming.

Holy Spirit Superintendent Chantel Axani adds that a new school could also include a more spacious gymnasium, a properly ventilated fitness centre, a larger chapel, construction classrooms, and open the door to programs like robotics and multi-media.

Kraemer says their staff and students have had to “make it work” with the aging building, but the prospect of a new or modernized school has brought a lot of excitement into their community.

It would also help to alleviate capacity issues.

St, Francis is set to have 710 students for the fall 2025 semester, which Kraemer says will put them slightly over 100 per cent capacity.

Mombourquette says they hope to know the future direction of the school in the next six to eight months.

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