The Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division wanted to put a digital sign on École Arthur Pechey School grounds along 28th Street W. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

No sign

Council denies plan for digital sign at Arthur Pechey

May 29, 2021 | 8:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division (SRPSD) will not be allowed to put a free-standing digital sign on École Arthur Pechey Public School grounds.

Prince Albert city council denied the request at Monday night’s meeting with several councillors arguing there were more important things the school division could be spending its money on.

Coun. Ted Zurakowski suggested kids in the area would rather see money for the new sign spent elsewhere, for example on improved access to laptops.

“I know it’s outside our lane a little bit,” Zurakowski acknowledged. “But you know what, the answer to that is, it’s come to us for approval. So we represent those families, we represent those kids as well.”

Pointing to the prominent location of the proposed sign on 28th Street W., Zurakowski questioned whether it was “communication or advertising.”

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Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick echoed his comments.

“Especially when education dollars are so tight and we’ve heard school divisions complaining about the cuts, the millions and millions of dollars of cuts to the classroom, why are we wanting a sign,” Ogrodnick said.

He added two schools in his ward have digital signs and he’s received complaints from constituents about one of them.

A map shows the proposed sign location. (Council agenda package/City of P.A.)

Meanwhile, when asked if he was surprised by council’s decision, SRPSD Director of Education Robert Bratvold said yes. However, he indicated he was not prepared to comment further.

“I think it’s something we’ll have some more conversations about, we’re just in the process of investigating sort of the rationale for it [the decision],” he said.

Bratvold said around five SRPSD schools in P.A. have digital signs which the division has “seen some good success with.”

“They’re great opportunities for the community to see the kinds of things that are going on in schools and to see the invitations to school events and activities that might be of interest to them,” he said.

According to P.A.’s zoning bylaw, all digital signs in the city require council approval. The brightness and message speed of the sign is at the discretion of a city development officer.

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alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom