Teachers and staff at a Winnipeg school that specializes in teaching newcomers and refugees are going without a paycheque while the school struggles to complete a new science lab in order to meet provincial requirements.
What was initially thought to be a less-pricey project is costing Freedom International School a lot more than they thought.
The Province of Manitoba has a "checklist" of requirements that independent schools such as Freedom International School, a Winnipeg school specializing in helping refugee children, need to follow. Throughout the past year, Freedom International School has been building a science lab for their students, looking to make that checkmark.
"From the beginning, we have all agreed that this is God's school and that He is going to be our provider, one way or another."
"There was the initial hope that we could just create a very simple room but it turns out of course that a commercial building needs commercial permits and stamped engineered plans, and we needed a hydro service upgrade," Brook Friesen, who is overseeing the project, says.
The investment into the lab is resulting in the pausing of paycheques.
Freedom International School's science lab construction cost is $176,000 and they are in need of $86,000. They say to help, money that was set aside for their staff and teacher's September and possibly October salaries will be used as they trust God, pursue other funding avenues, and wait for additional provincial funding.
"The board ended up approving to use those fall salary savings for this lab. We really didn't have a choice but to keep this going as fast as possible."
"From the beginning, we have all agreed that this is God's school and that He is going to be our provider, one way or another," Friesen says. "We are trusting God to bring in another $80,000 here in the next few weeks to help us make it through September and October and then some of the government funding kicks in."
Standing in the middle of the room holding his phone, Friesen takes in how far they've come, and how far they have to go.
"I've got gas lines, water lines, plumbing drainage lines. We've got some millwork in the works here, framing, lots is going on."
The hope is to have the flooring installed before students make their September 9 return, but Friesen says they might need more time.
Friesen says prayers are welcome, saying prayers for staff unity are needed, and for students to immediately feel at home at their school.
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FIS says on its website that it was "established to address the needs of students who are two or more academic years behind their peers in the public school system. Most of our students are new to Canada. Many have spent years in refugee camps. Others lived in war-torn countries where they were unable to go to school."
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