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Your LOCAL Media since 1918! VOLUME 108: ISSUE 20
www.tofieldmerc.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Community meeting held to discuss future K-12 school in Tofield
The community of Tofield was invited to a special school council meeting in the Tofield Arena meeting room on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to discuss the proposed K-12 school in Tofield. Pictured L-R: Tofield School Council Chair Leann Strilchuk, C.W. Sears Council Chair Stephanie Hosker, BRSD trustee Lyle Albrecht, C.W. Sears principal Adam Madsen, Tofield School principal Gordon Thompson. KARI JANZEN PHOTO Kari Janzen Staff Reporter
The community of Tofield was invited to a special school council meeting that was held in the Tofield Arena meeting room on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to discuss the proposed new K-12 school in Tofield. C.W. Sears Elementary School Council Chair Stephanie Hosker led the meeting, accompanied by Tofield School Council Chair Leann Strilchuk, Battle River School Division (BRSD) Beaver County trustee Lyle Albrecht, C.W. Sears principal Adam Madsen, and Tofield School principal Gordon Thompson. About 40 people attended the meeting in
person, including Town of Tofield mayor Adam Hall, councillors Brenda Chehade, Elaine Taylor, Jennifer Durrant, Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Edwards, Beaver County Division 1 councillor Kevin Smook, and Beaver County Division 2 councillor and deputy reeve Lionel Williams. Town of Tofield councillor Dustin Terpstra was one of many who attended the meeting virtually. It was noted that Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely was not in attendance, to which Strilchuk said they regretfully were remiss in inviting her. “It's wonderful to see such a strong turnout, and it truly reflects the care and commitment
this community has for our school and our children,” Hosker said. Hosker said that the goal of the meeting was to inform the community about BRSD’S capital plan, value scoping report, and to provide feedback for Albrecht to take back to the BRSD Board of Trustees. “Our intention is to be able to work collaboratively with the school board and the government to create the best possible outcome for our community,” Hosker said. “C.W. Sears has been on the list of the BRSD capital plan since 2019, originally as a modernization. It is now first on the list to be rebuilt due to structural and safety
concerns,” Hosker said. C.W. Sears was built in 1979, with modular classrooms added in 1986, 1994, 2017, and 2018. The elementary school has a current enrollment of 278 students. “Tofield School was originally built in 1952. Multiple subsequent additions and modulars have been added throughout the life of the building, and the major modernization occurred in 1994-95. Tofield School has a current enrollment of 438. It is dated and may be at risk for structural and safety concerns in the future, but it's currently structurally sound,” Hosker said. The full, 309-page value scoping report is available on the BRSD website.
“During the two-day value scoping session, the architects facilitated group discussions to identify and develop options for the replacement, modernization, and addition and right sizing of C.W. Sears and/or Tofield School. A total of four grade configurations were reviewed and discussed, noting the pros and cons of each option and how each of these options may affect both C.W. Sears and Tofield School, who have a combined population of 710 students,” Hosker said. Option 1 would see the replacement of only C.W. Sears, which would continue to serve K-4. “The concern is, when Tofield School requires
replacement, will the school board be able to get funding? This option would provide capacity for 780 students,” Hosker said. Option 2 would also be just the replacement of C.W. Sears, but operating it as a K-6, with Tofield School teaching 7-12. “This would align better with timetables, bell schedules, school sport schedules, and separates younger and older grades. This configuration has a capacity for 880 students. Again, the concerns with the age and condition of Tofield School remain with this option,” Hosker said.
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