Newsletter: February 27, 2026

Update on École Whitehorse Elementary school relocation 

Department of Education recently initiated a new public engagement process on the relocation of École Whitehorse Elementary. The engagement includes three proposed sites for the school:

• An area that is identified as "Kopper King" in the YG survey, but is actually on the east side of the highway in Takhini. This area covers the quarry area and green space behind it, including the disc golf course and pumphouse area, and sits against the highway.

• Across the Canada Games Centre in the green space right next to Valleyview neighbourhood.

• The current École Whitehorse Elementary School site.

Images of the three proposed sites can be found in the YG survey and the Association survey, which are both linked below.

We encourage members to provide their direct input either through the survey or public meetings. The survey link and public meeting information is available at this link. The survey is open until April 26, 2026.

The Association has reached out to the Valleyview and Downtown community associations to learn about their perspectives on the three proposed sites.

The Association is meeting with Department of Education within the coming weeks to provide direct input on the options. This input will include the following points:

• In all communications with Yukon government on this issue, the Association has emphasized that Takhini residents place a high priority on preserving neighbourhood green space and have longstanding concerns about increased traffic volumes, particularly along Range Road.

• The Association has provided feedback to YG that we feel that the first site listed above is in fact in Takhini despite being described as"Kopper King". According to both electoral district boundaries and official land records, the property is in fact situated within Takhini. This distinction is important to residents, as the impacts of any proposed development would be felt directly within the Takhini community.

• If selected for the school, the proposed "Kopper King" site would have a significant impact on Takhini green space enjoyment and recreational use, potentially covering the quarry or disc golf course and connecting trails.

• This proposed site would also likely have an impact on traffic on Range Road, depending on where within the site the school would be situated.

  • If the school were situated on or near the quarry area, the likely access point would the corner of Ortona and Carpiquet, which would bring substantial traffic into the residential area of Takhini North.

  • If the school were located closer to McIntyre Creek, the likely access point would be Alaska Highway. This would raise concerns of connection of the pumphouse road from University Drive to the Highway if connectivity was deemed to be an issue.

We will inform members about the outcomes of our meeting with Yukon government and of other key updates on this important issue.

Annual Survey 

It's time for our annual survey on members' priorities for the Association and the neighbourhood. We appreciate your input to help guide the Association's activities. This survey includes questions on the proposed EWES relocation as described above. Please access the survey HERE from now until March 31st. 

AGM

On January 29, 2026, the Association held a successful AGM. Thank you to those who attended and contributed to the discussion. The new Board of Directors for 2026 are:

• Jan Horton

• Andrew Robulack

• Tyler Heal

• Meaghan Griffin

• Jennifer Dagg

• Tom Lips

• Rachel Westfall