Alberta Budget 2024: 18 new schools to be built in Calgary and area

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Eighteen new schools will be built in the Calgary region in the coming years, Alberta government officials announced Friday.

Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides provided additional details Friday on new K-12 school projects that will receive funding in this year’s budget, including 18 new schools for Calgary and area and 14 in the Capital Region.

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The construction timeline for most of the projects was not revealed, and only two Calgary schools will receive full construction funding this year. Most of the shovel-ready projects will benefit the surrounding communities of Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere.

On Friday, Nicolaides said the 2024 budget will support the construction of 28 new schools, 10 replacement schools and five modernization projects.

These schools will accommodate 35,000 students once completed, Nicolaides noted, including 16,000 in the Calgary region.

“We are working hard to ensure we build an education system that empowers and inspires young learners,” he said, adding the new schools will be built in some of Alberta’s fastest-growing communities.

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Alberta Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides speaks during a press conference at St. Mary’s High School in Calgary on Friday, March 1, 2024.Gavin Young/Postmedia

Selected projects ‘require urgent attention,’ says Catholic board board chair

Many of the Calgary-specific projects will fill gaps in newer neighbourhoods on the city’s outskirts.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) will receive construction funding for a K-4 school in the northwest community of Evanston, while the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) will receive money to build a high school in the southeast neighbourhood of Rangeview.

CBE will also receive design funding for three projects a high school in Cornerstone, a K-4 elementary school in Redstone and a modernization of Annie Gale School (a Grades 6-9 school) in Whitehorn.

Design funding refers to the preparation of construction tender documents, including drawings and specifications, and is approved before a school receives full construction funding. 

While the new funding is appreciated, CBE chair Laura Hack said there remains a critical need for more learning spaces. CBE welcomed an additional 7,029 new students this school year, representing a 5.4 per cent enrolment increase.

Hack noted that in the past two years, CBE has welcomed more than 13,000 additional students, enough to fill 22 elementary schools. “And we continue to enrol students every day,” she said.

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CCSD is also receiving design funding for a K-6 elementary school in Redstone, a high school in west Calgary and a K-9 school in Chestermere.

Conseil scolaire FrancoSud, the Francophone school district for southern Alberta, will receive design funding for a K-6 school in north Calgary.

“These projects require urgent attention, given the critical need for school infrastructure and Calgary Catholic’s high utilization rates in these communities,” she said Friday, noting many of the district’s schools are operating “well above” their capacity.

“Like many school districts in our province, CCSD is experiencing rapid growth. Our enrolment numbers grow almost daily and we’re facing budgetary challenges, increased student complexity and need.”

W.H. Croxford High School in Airdrie was photographed on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The school has had portables added to help with a continuing space shortage.Gavin Young/Postmedia file

Bedroom communities receive funding for priority projects

After a relative lack of investment in 2023, the municipalities surrounding Calgary are getting a bigger boost from Alberta Education this year.

Rocky View Schools (RVS), which is the public school division for Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere, will receive immediate construction funding for three K-8 schools — two in Airdrie and one in Cochrane.

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The division will also receive design funding for a fourth public high school in Airdrie (grades 9-12) and a K-9 school in Chestermere.

Board chair Fiona Gilbert called this year’s funding commitment a positive step forward for the district, which has an enrolment of more than 28,600 students.

“These have been long-awaited as top priorities for RVS and are crucial for providing relief in our most crowded schools,” she said.

She said the district will have an expected average utilization rate of 101 per cent by 2028, with several schools projected to exceed this rate.

“The new schools will help, but they will not solely resolve the space challenges faced in RVS,” she said.

South of Calgary, the Foothills School Division will receive design funding for a third public high school in Okotoks.

Finally, three Calgary school projects are receiving funds for planning — CBE is planning a new middle school (grades 5-9) in Saddleridge, while FrancoSud intends to build both a K-6 school and a high school in north Calgary.

Differing from design funding, planning funding refers to site analysis and scope development activities, according to Alberta Education.

NDP education critic Amanda Chapman said Friday’s announcement falls far short of addressing Alberta’s high demand.

“Let’s be clear, today’s announcement is only 12 new schools,” she said in a statement.

“With record enrolment of 28,000 new students this year in Alberta, the UCP’s budget will not address overcrowding in schools because they are only building one-third of what is needed. The premier admitted today the demand for classroom space is way more than she’s committed to build.”

— With files from Eva Ferguson



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