TSI UPDATES

Thanks for joining us for the Society Meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 21. On that night the Society affirmed the Board’s desire to potentially borrow an additional $4 million dollars of long term debt to help pay for the rising costs of the middle school portion of the building project. The Society gave a resounding yes vote to this proposal as 91% of the society agreed to move forward. 

If you were in attendance at the meeting you will recall some main themes that were discussed:

• Transparency from the Board about rising costs and the inability to pay these costs without raising the ceiling of what we are allowed to borrow
• Transparency from the Board regarding unanticipated costs associated with the middle school additions:
  • parking lots
  • additional HVAC needs in the middle school
• Potential cost savings in the project that could be realized
• Potential for additional donations once the project gets started
• Realities of how to pay for this additional debt
  • Enrolment growth resulting in a full four section school by the 2025/2026 school year
  • Tuition increases could move from 3% per year to 5% per year over the next 3-5 years. This reality caused some concern through the Q&A, although it was recognized that the after tax rebate of this additional increase for a typical tuition paying family was approximately $15/month. The need for additional middle school classrooms is upon us now and the Society understood this.

After multiple questions and answers, the Society was led in a prayer by Gerry Goertzen, our secondary principal, who asked God to show Himself in this process. Soon after, the ballot vote was taken and after a short break, the announcement was made: 91% in favour of the proposal, which stated: “The ACS Society members approve a plan to: Expand the middle school as designed to include long-term debt of up to $10 million.”

We again proclaim our gratitude to God and the people that He works through, as we seek to accomplish His plan for ACS.

Thank you Society for your vote of confidence!

The following is a list of the work that continues behind the scenes:

WHAT HAPPENED IN MAY:

• We did everything we could to move the building permit process forward. We have recognized the complications that the delays of the project start date have caused, and we continued to do what we could to expedite the process.
• The interior design team met for a full day to finish working through every room in the building plans. They are nearly finished determining custom millwork, furniture purchases, hallway break out areas, wall displays, and flooring. Our main interior design team consists of:  Steve Atsma, Tanya Kieneker, Julius Siebenga, Mike Riezebos, and Jonathan Zuidhof.

 WHAT’S NEXT:

• It’s all about getting the building permit: we are doing everything we can to expedite the process of attaining our building permit to be able to begin the project. We are already quite far behind in our timeline and will need to readjust once we receive our permit.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. We continue to […]