It's been a long road but the community of Nokomis now has a school with a usable gymnasium space.

Due to structural damage the gym was not safe but through partnerships of the province, the Horizon School Division and the town itself they celebrated the grand reopening this morning.

Principal Ken Koenig(pictured above) says the situation hasn't been ideal for productivity.

"We did pack them up and we did go to the community hall at times for a larger space and of course the outdoors were used a lot, even in the Winter time" he chuckled. "Nokomis kids are tough, tough and resilient."

A part of the renovations they did lose some school space, the old gym, two classrooms and some change rooms were demolished. Aside from the gym upgrades there were renovations to washrooms, the principal's office, the staff room and storage space.

Education Minister Don Morgan(above) was on hand for the ribbon cutting.

"I'd come out here before and saw a gym that wasn't functional," Morgan said. "It had structural problems and a terrible leak in the roof so now we've reconfigured the school, we've got a library converted to a gym that's working out real well, the kids seem thrilled with it."

Mayor David Mark(pictured below) was also on hand at the event, he admits he is happy to finally see something done but eight years of neglect can't happen again. Their school needs to remain sufficient for the livability of the town.

"It's a key piece of how the community operates day to day and it's a place for our children and our rate payers children for a place for them to learn and grow without having them travel away."

"The streets without a school would be lonely," Mark concluded.

The now kindergarten to grade eight facility was once the most reviewed school with the threat of closure seemingly an annual battle for the town and their school community council.

All stakeholders now believe the future is as bright as the lights in their new gym.

You can hear more from Mark, Koenig and Morgan below in their interviews with Bolt FM's Clark Stork.