00:00:00.160A former school in a small Alberta village called Rockyford, which has a population of less than 500 people, is getting a makeover, transforming into what village officials call a cultural center.
00:00:13.140Village officials, however, are hesitant to reveal details beyond this.
00:00:20.420The school closed back in 2016 due to low student enrollment and was sold to new buyers in early April.
00:00:26.720Though nothing has been confirmed, there is currently a website which might indicate the building will become a Sikh temple, containing Photoshop images of the building with the school's old address.
00:00:39.640Mayor Darcy Burke revealed to the Drumheller Mail that kids will be bused to the location, probably from Calgary or Chestermere, a reasonable assumption to make since according to Statistics Canada, there are no people in the village with Sikh religious affiliation.
00:00:56.720This detail leaves questions about whether the location will remain a school, potentially a charter school.
00:01:04.380The Western Standard reached out to the Minister of Education to ask exactly this.
00:01:10.160A spokesperson for the minister was hesitant to reveal any information, stating that the government does not comment on the charter school applications.
00:01:19.600However, they did reveal there was no application for a charter school at this time.
00:01:24.580I went down to inspect the scene, finding nothing out of the ordinary, no signs of construction
00:01:31.040nor the new buyers. However, when I asked villagers, they seemed to give me the impression
00:01:37.100the new owners were quite friendly, letting villagers use the gymnasium for playing picket
00:01:42.480ball. As to why the village is not being straightforward, that's a question they are