Work has begun to strip down Silver Heights Collegiate as officials consider the future of the Winnipeg high school, which closed its doors permanently after a final reunion over the weekend.

More than 1,000 student and staff alumni gathered at the St. James-area high school over the weekend to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary.

The St. James Assiniboia School Division decided earlier this year to close the school, citing low enrolment in the division. The school's student body will merge with Sturgeon Creek Collegiate in September to form Sturgeon Heights Collegiate.

Division superintendent Ron Weston says work crews will now begin stripping useful items from the building for use in other schools in the division.

"The building will most likely be offered, as per provincial guidelines, for the government for alternative use, and if they don't need it for anything, we would put it up for sale," he said.

Weston expects the process to take at least six months.
 
City Coun. Scott Fielding, who graduated from Silver Heights in 1990, says he hopes there will be public discussion about what should happen to the property, located near Portage Avenue and Moray Street.

"We've got to make sure that it's a public consultation so everyone has a say in what goes on there," he said. "I think there has been some talk of … maybe a seniors complex, or condominiums that might be suitable for the area. I know there is a great need in that area for such things."

Weston said he didn't know what the land and the school building could be worth, but said closing the school will save the division about $700,000 a year in operating costs.

That money is being redirected to the renovation of the amalgamated Sturgeon Heights Collegiate.