Public high school earmarked for Aldersyde

The Foothills School Division hopes to have a new high school up-and-running in the Aldersyde area within the next two to three years.

Division trustees approved plans for a new high school to eventually replace Foothills Composite High School at its March 4 meeting.

The new high school would initially have an enrolment of between 650 and 700 students, while other students would remain at the current Foothills Composite High School.

A second phase would expand the new high school to accommodate 1,800 students. At which time, Foothills Composite High School would become a K-9 school — helping further to take off pressure at the K-9 Westmount School in Okotoks.

“We approached the province a while ago and then we got a call in early December that there is a possibility for this,” said Drew Chipman, Foothills School Division assistant superintendent of corporate services. “We have been working on it for months.”

As the new high school transitions from 700 students to 1,800, it will be considered one school with two campuses. Until the Aldersyde site is fully completed, the current Foothills Composite High School will be a K-9 school and have some high school students.

Although the location of the new high school has not yet been determined, the division is working closely with the MD of Foothills for a site. It will likely be near the new Legacy Field House to take advantage of its athletic facilities as well as multiple sports fields expected to be built there in the future.

Chipman stressed the two to three year time frame for Phase I to be completed is an estimate.

The province had announced a new K-9 school for Okotoks in the fall of 2014. However, further plans were stymied due to a lack of school sites in the town.

The $25-million designated for the proposed modernization of Foothills Composite High School — which was announced by former premier Alison Redford during a ceremony at the school — has now been shifted to pay for Phase I of the new high school.

The source of funds for the new school's second phase has not yet been determined.

For further details, see the March 11 edition of the Okotoks Western Wheel.