cbe middle school still awaiting construction start two years after funding approval
5 minute read
land preparation for construction of the new evanston middle school was underway on thursday, april 25, 2024.
gavin young/postmedia
more than two years after construction funding was announced on a new middle school in evanston, the calgary board of education still has no shovels in the ground on the much-needed project touted to add 900 student spaces.
according to a construction update presented to trustees this week, only three public school projects are underway in a system that has seen historic growth, two of which have not yet received full funding or an estimated completion date.
currently, only the louise dean school project is set for completion this fall, a $10-million relocation and expansion of the program for teen mothers from its former site in kensington to jack james high school.
john diefenbaker high school, which was approved for a $36-million modernization in march 2023, has not received any dollars yet, with only a “pre-design report” completed in december, and discussions ongoing “regarding next steps” with alberta infrastructure.
and for the $38-million middle school in evanston approved in march 2022, up to 90 per cent of “design and build” funding has been received. but officials say work has not yet started, and no completion date has been determined.
“evanston middle school still has not broken ground, over two years after the provincial government announced full funding for it in march 2022,” said trustee susan vukadinovic.
“the cbe is running out of space for students. we are full now and we urgently need new schools built in communities across our growing city.”
dany breton, cbe superintendent facilities, explained there can be a time lag from when the province announces funding to when the cbe receives it. as well, the cbe is still working on permit approvals with the city of calgary.
“we are currently awaiting development permits from the city,” breton said this week.
advertisement
“the city establishes requirements that the developer must meet. then there is a dialogue between the city and the developer about what adjustments need to be made.
breton said he is hopeful shovels will be in the ground in the coming weeks.
“the process has been going on for a while but i’m optimistic we are receiving those permits imminently and you’ll see work on that site.”
as student enrolment grows by the thousands, schools desperately needed
the slow movement on construction comes at a time when cbe is facing an unprecedented enrolment surge, overcrowding and space crunches that are expected to continue in the coming years.
after welcoming more than 7,000 new kids in 2023-24, bringing total enrolment to a record 138,244, cbe is projecting a total of 146,294 students in 2024-25, meaning an additional 8,050 kids.
and in 2025-26, the cbe is projecting 153,193 total students, an additional 6,899 kids, reaching yet another all-time high.
overall, in the next two years the cbe is expecting to add another 14,800 students, higher than the 13,000 received in the previous two record-setting years.
still, out of the ucp’s budget 2024 announced this spring, the cbe was granted full construction funding for only one new school, a new k-4 school in evanston, among 12 other full construction approvals across alberta.
three other desperately-needed schools only received design funding — a high school in cornerstone, a k-4 elementary school in redstone and a modernization at annie gale, a grades 6-9 school in whitehorn — meaning there is no certainty as to when they will begin construction.
as a result, cbe officials have quadrupled the number of high-priority projects in its three-year capital plan presented last month, going from six projects listed last year to 21 this year.
advertisement
‘one new school per year does not cut it for calgarians’
vukadinovic said the cbe is still awaiting confirmation from alberta infrastructure on next steps for the new elementary school in evanston, as well as for the various projects that have received only limited planning or design dollars.
“speed of delivery is critical,” vukadinovic said.
“i would like to see the government of alberta demonstrate greater agility in responding to the growth pressures in calgary’s public education system.
“i worry that the provincial government is distracted by unnecessary side projects.”
vukadinovic estimates that last year cbe had 3,900 kids waiting for the province to approve a school in their neighbourhood.
“but instead of 3,900 student spaces, the cbe received approval for only 600 student spaces. we’re getting full construction funding for only one of the new schools that were on our capital planning list last year.
“and one new school per year does not cut it for calgarians.”
as a result of enrolment growth, vukadinovic added, the cbe actually needs funding for 11,400 student spaces or 13 new schools and one major modernization.
“i’m worried that the current provincial government is falling further and further behind on building new schools for calgarians,” she said.
“calgarians are hard-working people who are paying their fair share of taxes and who expect schools to be built in their neighbourhoods.”
province building new schools ‘as quickly as possible’: education minister
education minister demetrios nicolaides has said the province is moving ahead with as many school projects as possible, including 18 in the calgary area, six of which have received full construction funding, with others receiving funds for planning and design.
alberta minister of education demetrios nicolaides speaks with media at the official opening of prairie sky school in skyview ranch on friday, april 12, 2024.
gavin young/postmedia
in addition to the cbe elementary school in evanston, those projects include a high school in the community of rangeview for the calgary catholic school district, a new francophone school in calgary, as well as schools for airdrie, cochrane and chestermere in the rocky view schools district.
advertisement
“we are working to build new schools as quickly as possible in alberta’s fastest-growing communities,” nicolaides said this week.
“through budget 2024, we’ll be investing $2.1 billion over the next three years to build 43 schools across the province, including 11 in calgary.
“these new schools in calgary will provide more than 4,500 new spaces for students.”
cbe officials added that schools that received funding approvals before evanston middle school — in 2018 and 2019 — also took some time, with most opening in the 2022-23 school year, including mahogany school, bayside school, lakeshore school, and prairie sky school.
and north trail high school opened for this academic year, in the fall of 2023.
share story
