River East Transcona School Division was established in 2002 following the amalgamation of River East School Division No. 9 and the urban portion of Transcona-Springfield School Division No. 12. The two school divisions were merged as part of the Public Schools Modernization Act, which reduced the number of school divisions in Manitoba to 37 from 54.
Prior to 2002, River East School Division No. 9—established in 1959—served students living east of the Red River in the previous East Kildonan, North Kildonan, East St. Paul, and St. Clement school districts. The original farms and market gardens located east of the Red River—settled by descendants of the Selkirk settlers and European immigrants—were gradually replaced with modern residential subdivisions that brought with them an explosion in student enrolment. While a handful of schools in the division date to the early 1900s, most were built in the boom decades of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
Further east, early history saw Transcona—primarily an agricultural community—served by the South Springfield School District No. 39. Soon, however, the community was overtaken by industrial development when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway company chose Transcona as the location for its shops. The town of Transcona was incorporated in 1912 and in 1913 Transcona School District No. 39 was created. It served the area for many decades.
Like River East, Transcona-Springfield School Division No. 12 came into being in 1959 with the consolidation of many of the province's school divisions. At the time, the division's reach extended to the rural communities of Dugald, Anola, and Oakbank. In 2002, when there were further consolidations of school districts, those rural portions of the division became part of Sunrise School Division.
Pictured: Central School, which was built in Transcona in 1912–13 and was closed in 1995 and later demolished.