Province accelerates funding for 11 new schools in Edmonton and Calgary regions

A growing student population means several schools are bursting at the seams. Tyler Barrow reports.

The province is kick-starting funding for construction on 11 schools in Edmonton and the Calgary area.

Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides made the announcement Saturday in Calgary, where he explained that “unprecedented” growth led to the decision to speed up construction on 11 previously-announced school projects from the design stage to full construction funding.

The province said in a media release that the 11 projects in Edmonton, Calgary, Chestermere, Airdrie and Okotoks will create more than 12,000 new spaces for students.

“There is no two ways about it, Alberta is growing and growing fast, so we need to build schools now,” Nicolaides said in a release. “That’s why we are making a generational investment of $8.6 billion, and fast-tracking school construction process.

“Our commitment to building schools will help us build and open 200,000 spaces for students in communities that need them the most all within the next seven years.”

“The growing number of students is a huge challenge that deserves decisive action,” Nicolaides added at Saturday’s press event at the Genesis Centre, “and Alberta’s government is going to tackle this challenge head-on.”

The new schools include a new 9-12 school in Airdrie, a 10-12 school in Cornerstone (Calgary), a K-4 school and K-6 school in Redstone(Calgary), a K-9 school in Chestermere, a K-9 school in Laurel (Edmonton), a K-9 school in River’s Edge (Edmonton), a K-6 school in Glenridding Heights (Edmonton), a K-6 school in Rosenthal (Edmonton), a 7-9 school in McConaiche and a 10-12 school in Okotoks.

“The reality is schools help form the foundation of our society, providing students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in all aspects of life, and our commitment to increasing school options mean, again, that children, parents and families will benefit from shorter commutes and more convenient access,” said Rajan Sawhney, Alberta’s Minister for Advanced Education.

“We are grateful to the provincial government for this new high school in Cornerstone and new elementary school in Redstone,” said board chair Patricia Bolger of the Calgary Board of Education.

“These urgently needed new schools will benefit students in the northeast corner of Calgary, which is experiencing strong growth. Across Calgary, the CBE has over 11,000 CBE students who are waiting for new schools to be announced this year, so they can attend school closer to home, and these two school announcements today are great news for over 3,000 of our students and their families.”

Nicolaides responded to a question about whether other Calgary communities that have seen high population growth would be considered for new schools.

“The short answer is absolutely yes,” Nicolaides said. “We are using that barometer of enrollment pressure and growth to help us decide where these schools need to be built. But of course, (we are) also taking guidance from our school boards -- as you heard, the new high school is number one on the Calgary Board of Education’s capital list.

“So we do defer to the school boards about what projects they have on their list,” he said, continuing. “But in budget, we will also be announcing 30 more projects that we will be including into our capital plan -- so those projects will be in other high growth areas of the city as well.”

The province says it will invest an additional $8.6 billion over the next three budget cycles to kick-start up to 90 new schools and up to 24 renovations or replacements.

It also plans to roll out more modular classrooms.

With files from CTV’s Tyler Barrow