HSD board keeps SRSS grad in Winnipeg

The Hanover School Division board has turned down a Southeast Event Centre proposal to host the Steinbach Regional Secondary School graduation ceremony and instead opted to keep the ceremony in Winnipeg.

Board trustees unanimously voted on March 17 during an in-camera meeting to continue having the high school graduation ceremony at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, citing concerns over the Southeast Event Centre’s smaller space and higher cost to have the event. The decision was read out during the April 7 school board meeting.

Ward 2 Trustee Charmaine Toews said space is a premium when housing the high school’s graduating class ceremony.

“Our grad class keeps growing. It’s not going to get any smaller. I believe we have 550 grads this year, so we need a facility that can accommodate a lot of students,” she told The Carillon.

The Steinbach high school’s 2025 graduation had 451 grads and 3,558 people in attendance.

Even if the ceremony was held at the Southeast Event Centre and the banquet elsewhere, it still would’ve meant less guests per person and a higher cost per student, Toews said.

Students are limited to five guests for the ceremony and it would’ve been less if hosted at the Steinbach event centre.

She said commuting and travel distances were considered in the decision but the size of SRSS makes it difficult to find a closer venue. If a second high school is built in Steinbach or if SRSS’s population becomes smaller, the decision would be revisited.

“Students want to invite their parents, grandparents and their families. That’s important too,” she said.

Bob Wiebe, spokesperson for Hanover School Division, said in an email statement the division wouldn’t release the proposal’s details as “any decision to release that proposal would rest with the Southeast Event Centre directly.”

Board chair Dallas Wiebe and vice chair Jeff Friesen weren’t available for interviews by deadline and didn’t attend the April 7 meeting.

A Southeast Event Centre spokesperson declined to comment on the decision.