SaskatchewanRegina’s Coopertown neighbourhood is set to be one of the largest in Saskatchewan. But the developer says there are currently no plans for a new school, even though an existing elementary school in the area is currently over capacity.No school in 1st phase of Coopertown development ‘because one’s not needed’: Dream Development VPKatie Swyers · CBC News · Posted: Sep 22, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoThis plot of land in northwest Regina will be the home of the Coopertown development, which the developer says will eventually be home to about 36,000 people. The existing dual-use elementary school building can be seen in the distance on the right. (Matt Howard/Radio Canada)With an expected residential population of 36,000 people once completed, Regina’s Coopertown neighbourhood is set to be one of the largest in Saskatchewan. Dream Development says it will build homes in phases on the more than 700-hectare (1,800-acre) lot in the city’s northwest over the next 30-plus years, beginning with 220 residential lots, followed by a commercial hub over the next two years. What’s not included in the plans yet is a new school. “There will be several schools throughout Coopertown as we go. Just in the first phase we won’t have one, because one’s not needed,” said Jason Carlston, Dream Development’s vice-president of land development, at the neighbourhood’s groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday. He says the developer worked with the province and school boards, which do forecasting to determine student populations in neighbourhoods, and concluded a new school was not needed in the initial phase.There is an existing school, adjacent to the upcoming neighbourhood, which has “eased the pressure in the northwest,” Carlston said. That school, Plainsview Elementary School, abuts the now empty field that will one day become Coopertown. The joint-use elementary school building, built under a public-private partnership, or P3, agreement, is shared between Regina Public Schools and Regina Catholic Schools.Plainsview is already exceeding capacity, according to Regina Public Schools. It has an official capacity of 466 students, but had a full-time equivalent student population of 497 at the end of the last school year, putting it at 107 per cent capacity.Enrolment figures for 2025-26 are not available yet, but the division says it expects similar numbers for the current school year.St. Nicholas elementary school has 503 students enrolled as of September 2025, according to Regina Catholic Schools. (Katie Swyers/CBC)The Regina Catholic school division says its elementary school in the building, St. Nicholas School, currently has 503 students and a total of five portable classrooms in use. The school division said its board of trustees and administration monitor how new developments and changes in demographics will affect school capacity. “We have no current concerns about student capacity at St. Nicholas School,” it said in an emailed statement. Teacher to student ratio already high: grandparentSandi Pura, whose grandson just started kindergarten at St. Nicholas, says the school is “pretty full” as it is. “We’re expecting it to get even more full with the new development happening right behind,” Pura said. Her granddaughter attends St. Nicholas’s daycare program. She’d like to see a new school to ease the capacity crunch.With the current student population, “I don’t think the kids get as much of the attention that they need, you know, especially at a young age,” Pura said. “I know the ratio of teacher to pupil in kindergarten is quite big right now.”But Regina Catholic Schools says the staff-to-student ratio at St. Nicholas is “well within [its] typical range.” Sandi Pura says that her grandson’s kindergarten class at St Nicholas School in Regina is already ‘pretty full.’ (Adam Bent/CBC)Both school divisions say additional student capacity can be added with portable classrooms. St. Nicholas has room for three additional portable classrooms, and Plainsview can accommodate an additional four, which would increase student capacity to 566. The additional “relocatable classrooms” would need approval by Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education. In an emailed statement to CBC News, the ministry said it has been working with the City of Regina and the school divisions to “discuss future plans” for schools in the Coopertown development.”The ministry will continue to work with school divisions on their infrastructure priorities and ensuring capacity needs are met,” said the statement. Dream Development president Michael Cooper described Coopertown as the largest community the company has built. But the company is behind several residential developments in Regina, including Harbour Landing, in the city’s southwest.The elementary school there has faced overcrowding issues since it opened in 2017. Ground was only broken on a new school in August, even though growing enrolment forced the school to convert libraries and other shared spaces into classrooms. Dream Development’s Carlston says Coopertown won’t face the same student population pressure as Harbour Landing, where the school “opened at almost full capacity” in 2017.ABOUT THE AUTHORKatie Swyers is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, based in Regina. She is a 2021 Joan Donaldson Scholar and has previously worked for CBC Podcasts, CBC’s Marketplace, CBC’s network investigative unit, CBC Toronto, CBC Manitoba and as a chase producer for Canada Tonight on CBC News Network. You can reach her at katie.swyers@cbc.ca.
No school build planned yet for new Regina neighbourhood projected to hit 36,000 residents
