The new multi-use school proposed in the provincial budget for South Hill earlier this month was the topic of conversation Thursday night at Riverview Collegiate.

Parents and members of the community got their chance to ask some of the questions of the directors of education for the Holy Trinity and Prairie South school divisions.

The new project will replace the Westmount and Empire schools in the Prairie South division and the Sacred Heart and St. Mary schools in the Holy Trinity division. Sean Chase, Director of Education for the Holy Trinity School Division said a lot of the big questions he was anticipating were asked Thursday.

“The concerns about the safety of the children, the concerns about the location of the building, concerns about the design and build process,” he said. “Most importantly, are they going to have a chance to have their own input? We certainly expected to hear all those questions... and I was really pleased with how thoughtfully they were presented tonight.”

Parents asked about questions and concerns and also shared some of their hopes and dreams.

“That’s a little bit like asking your children for their Christmas list,” Chase said. “I was excited to hear some really out there, perhaps some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of things you can do. But that gives us a blueprint to go and talk to the community and to the rest of the people responsible for building this and say let’s make sure we have something that responds to the needs of the community as best as possible.”

One of the main questions that has been coming up has been about the location of the proposed project.

“The Ministry will have an awful lot to do with that,” said Prairie South Director of Education, Tony Baldwin. “All four of the current schools are on Crown land of some description. We know we’re going to need a big footprint. So my guess would be that either the land that is currently the yard at Westmount or the land that is currently the yard at Sacred Heart would be the most likely two sites, but there’s lots of conversation to happen.”

There will be a lot of consultation between the school boards, the Ministry of Education and the public about what the school will include when it's built. Both boards are aiming for transparency and collaboration during the process.