Both school divisions in Okotoks received good news about new schools from the provincial government Wednesday.
A replacement for Christ the Redeemer's Good Shepherd School was granted full construction funding, while the Foothills School Division has been given planning funding for a new high school in the Wedderburn area.
Budget 2023 was tabled in the legislature this week, with $2.3 billion earmarked for new and modernized schools.
Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange said in a press conference that the Province has taken a new approach to school planning by providing money for projects in different stages – pre-planning, planning, design and construction.
"This approach will provide school authorities with more provincial support earlier in the planning process so school projects can progress more quickly and with fewer roadblocks," LaGrange said.
A replacement for Good Shepherd School was one of 13 projects granted full construction funding.
CTR superintendent Scott Morrison previously said the building was in need of significant repairs that wouldn't be practical to undertake with students inside, so the ideal scenario would be to maintain the status quo while a new school was built in the D'Arcy community.
Morrison said Wednesday the board is excited and relieved at the news.
"We were very hopeful and we were cautiously optimistic but watched the announcement with all the rest of Alberta that watched it this afternoon," he said. "A little cheer went up in our board office, that’s for sure."
It will likely be a couple of years before the new school is built, but in the meantime Morrison said more details are needed on what the government has approved for the project.
"We requested a school with a capacity of 650 (students) expandable to 900 and we expect it to be close to capacity on the day it opens," he said, adding this not only provides assurance for current students and parents, but also the ability to expand English and French immersion programs for more students in the future – even junior high grades.
Morrison added there are plans to hold a parent consultation session before the end of the year to gauge parents' hopes for the new building.
A new high school in Wedderburn is atop the Foothills School Division's 2022-25 capital plan priority list that was released last March. That project was one of 14 granted planning funding.
"This new program will serve as the pipeline for school projects," LaGrange said. "It is intended to further develop project scope and to complete site investigations work so that projects can hit the ground running as soon as formal design or construction is approved."
Superintendent Christopher Fuzessy said the announcement of funding is great news.
"We certainly saw that as good news and a good step forward," he said. "We were encouraged and happy to see that the need for the high school is being recognized in that planning phase."
Though completion is likely years away, Fuzessy said the new high school in Wedderburn will help to relieve the pressure on Foothills Composite High School, which is currently operating between 130 and 140 per capacity. It will also serve students coming from Red Deer Lake and Diamond Valley, he added.
FSD asked members of the community to advocate to the government on its behalf regarding a number of issues in the fall. Fuzessy expressed gratitude for that support.
Projects granted design funding will receive money to allow for full project design, construction tender documents and permit applications. Full construction funding is subsequently approved at a later time.
Earlier in the process is the support for pre-planning, which LaGrange said will help address the issue of having enough land to build all necessary spaces.
"We are taking a longer term view with this approach, pre-planning funding is intended for projects that are anticipated high priorities in the coming years so this includes projects in newer developing neighbourhoods, or projects that are still reasonably affordable to maintain and operate but have but have several facility systems nearing the end of their lifespan," she said.
For a full list of approved projects, visit the government's website.
