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Some students displaced by a summer fire at a Saskatoon high school will be studying close by.
Saskatoon city hall and the Catholic school division have struck a deal to rent out space at the adjacent Shaw Centre aquatic facility for use as classrooms for Bethlehem Catholic High School.
City council approved the lease arrangement Wednesday; it lasts from Monday to Dec. 31.
School division spokesman Derrick Kunz said in an emailed statement that the high school’s plans for classes that begin next week depended on the city approving the lease.
“Bethlehem has used space in the Shaw Centre in the past for certain classes and programming,” Kunz wrote.
“Typically, the space was used only for part of the day and on specific days. Under the current arrangement, the rooms will be used throughout the school day whenever students are present.”
A fire on Aug. 7 damaged four portable classrooms under construction, as well as 22 existing portables. Other parts of the school suffered heat and water damage. Saskatoon police have said they are investigating the fire as a case of arson.
Classes, which are scheduled to start Wednesday, are expected to operate on a split-day schedule on a temporary basis. This means shorter classroom times split between morning classes and afternoon classes depending on the grade.
City hall is renting out the Shaw Centre’s multipurpose room, meeting rooms A and B and two washrooms at a cost of $87,445. The agreement can be extended until June 30, 2027, but the total cost would then rise to $206,100.
The deal with the school division was struck using the city’s emergency facility use agreement, which was established last year to accommodate people evacuated from wildfires in May of 2025 at the city-owned Cosmo Civic Centre.
This agreement ensures the city is compensated for use of its facilities, but also covers other issues like liability.
Matthew Loran, the city’s director of recreation and community development, told council Wednesday it’s not yet clear whether the city will still be able to rent out the Shaw Centre rooms in the evenings and on weekends because they will be filled with desks and chairs.
Groups planning to rent space at the Shaw Centre and people planning to take part in drop-in programs might be accommodated at the Cosmo Civic Centre, Loran explained.
The Shaw Centre, which opened in 2009, is connected to Bethlehem and Tommy Douglas High School. City council is seeking a new sponsor for the Shaw Centre after the naming rights agreement expired in March of 2024.
The last one-year naming rights deal was worth $86,667.