(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

renovations

West Park Elementary School receives upgrades to become more energy efficient

Jun 23, 2025 | 4:29 PM

The Red Deer Public School Division celebrated the modernization of West Park Elementary School on Monday.

In front of students, staff, and school board trustees, a ceremony unveiled the work that was finished approximately a month ago.

Matt Schultz, facilities manager at Red Deer Public Schools, said the scope of the project was to become more energy efficient and upgrade the exterior of the school.

The work began in late August 2024, which included replacing all of the windows and upgrading the insulation. The exterior of the building also received an upgrade with a new modern look with tinted windows, masonry blocks, metal cladding, and new brick veneer.

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Schultz said there were also some minor electrical upgrades and changes.

In terms of what was upgraded in the interior and exterior, Schultz explained it hadn’t been touched since the 1970s.

“It was definitely due for an energy efficient upgrade. These schools were built with almost no insulation in them. They relied on the brick and the cladding to protect the school from the elements. By adding insulation and significantly better windows, we should see significant changes on our utility bills for the school,” Schultz said.

The school face lift was done while also keeping in mind the original architecture of the school and honouring it. The new lettering displayed on the front of the school is the same font used when the school was first built in 1957.

They referenced the original drawings of the school as well as all of the improvements made over the years.

Schultz explained the utility costs across the district are extremely high because of the number of facilities they do have.

(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

Because of the older windows at the elementary school, the furnace and boiler were working overtime to heat the school during the winter. The classrooms will also be brighter because before the renovations, added insulation was blocking light from coming through the windows to make up for the cool air entering the building.

Now with the new windows, they’ve been able to open it up again so more light can come through. Students and staff can also open up the windows to allow for natural ventilation.

“Changes like this are kind of a win-win. I mean cosmetically, you get the updated look of the school and from an infrastructure perspective, we have significantly upgraded energy efficiency, which is much better than it was before,” Schultz said.

It is a two-phased project with no start date set for the second phase yet, which will see the school gymnasium receive new metal cladding and insulation. They hope to start the second phase later this year.

The first phase costed the approximately $1.9 million and they split it into two phases to fit it within the division budget. The second phase is expected to cost $300,000 to $400,000 for a total project value of $2.2 million. The project was funded by the provincial government.