Province to fund two new schools in Edmonton

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Two new schools are going up in Edmonton and designs for another two have been funded, the province announced Friday.

It came as welcome news to many parents and school board leaders, but left some wondering how the much-needed extra classroom capacity would be staffed.

Construction projects for 15 new schools and modernizations received funding across the province, and 10 got the go-ahead for design. Altogether, the 25 projects will receive $397 million.

It means schools will open up 19,000 new student spaces, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said at a press conference Friday morning in Calgary.

“We will continue to build schools where they are needed. Obviously we can’t do it all in one budget,” said LaGrange.

Last week’s provincial budget contained a funding freeze for K-12 education for the next three years, causing concern for some local school boards.

The Edmonton public school board has estimated a shortfall of $34.4 million, while the Catholic school board is expecting a reduction of $12.5 million. The Elk Island public school division said on Friday it’s anticipating a $5.3-million shortfall — about 2.7 per cent of its budget.

“Teachers and administrators will be running those new schools,” said LaGrange, when asked who would staff the new schools given the budget’s freeze in K-12 operating funding.

“What I value most is that we have locally elected school boards, who oversee the governance of their local school divisions and authorities, and they are very good at taking the dollars that they have and meeting the needs of the schools and of their communities,” said LaGrange, who added the government is funding every student at the same base rate they were funded for last year.

Running out of space

A public K-9 school in Edmonton’s Keswick area will be built, and the province is funding the design of a new Meadows High School in the city’s southeast.

“We’re very happy. We can continue with a sense of community,” said Lisa Carr, whose daughter attends Svend Hansen elementary school in the southeast. Carr said she looks forward to a new Meadows high school being built by the time her daughter begins attending high school.

“We knew it was just a matter of time, but with funding, and the new government coming in — I just didn’t know if it would happen for my family.”

If a new high school isn’t opened by 2022, the public division will be out of high school space, said Trisha Estabrooks, board chair at Edmonton Public Schools.

“The need for a new high school is absolutely critical, so I’m pleased to see the first step to build this high school.”

The design would cost an estimated $5.8 million to $6 million, Estabrooks said. The district projects that the construction of Phase I of the new Meadows high school will cost $79 million and have the capacity for 1,800 students when it opens.

The Keswick K-9 school will cost an estimated $33 million, and will have an opening capacity of 950 students.

In Edmonton’s Catholic division, the Heritage Valley Town Centre high school will get design funding, and a new $31-million 950-student-capacity elementary and junior high school for the Windermere and Keswick area will be built.

“We are extremely pleased that the provincial government has listened to the crucial need for our first capital plan priority of a K-9 school in Keswick. In this community, 72 per cent of the residential lots still have to be developed and the closest Catholic K-9 school is over capacity,” Laura Thibert, board chair of Edmonton Catholic Schools said in a statement.

A new K-6 school for Lewis Farms/Secord, listed as the division’s second priority as of March, was passed over in favour of the Heritage Valley build.

“We also appreciate the design funding for our third priority of a high school in Heritage Valley in southwest Edmonton,” said Thibert, adding that it is one of the fastest growing sectors in the city.

‘This is a small step, but it is a significant one’

Bellerose Composite High School in St. Albert will receive design funding for an addition and modernization — the St. Albert public school district’s top priority.

“Our district is very pleased with the announcement. This is a small step, but it is a significant one,” said Glenys Edwards, board chair of the St. Albert public school district. While thrilled with the upgrade, the board remains very concerned about what provincial budget changes will mean for their schools, she said.

St. Albert’s public and Catholic school divisions are now faced with a combined reduction in funding of more than $5 million this year, according to a joint statement released Thursday.

“We’re very concerned looking at our budget going forward — we don’t know what we’ll be doing. At this point one of the possibilities would be staffing cuts. We don’t know yet,” said Edwards.

In the Edmonton area, Leduc Black Gold School Division will get a new high school, and Morinville Community High School was approved for a modernization.

NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman said Friday the funding was a good start for tackling the challenge of aging buildings and rising enrolment in growing cities.

“I will give kudos when kudos is earned,” she said at the legislature.

Given that education funding is expected to stay flat for the next four years while the student population grows, Hoffman questioned whether boards will have enough money to hire staff for new schools.

“Flat budgets and more kids means less supports for all of those kids who are in our schools,” she said.

The Minister of Infrastructure Prasad Panda refused to give a timeline on any of the projects. Target dates will be identified for both construction completion and school occupancy through the design and plan process, he said in a written statement.

lijohnson@postmedia.com

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-With files from Janet French