COCHRANE— Rocky View Schools unveiled its 2022-25 Capital Plan Thursday (March 8) at the Board of Trustees meeting and one thing is clear— The priority for the district is ensuring schools have spaces matching the number of students enrolled in the district.
The top three priorities for the 2022 budget year remain the addition of 700 learning spaces to Bow Valley High School to create 1,400 student spaces, a Cochrane Kindergarten to Grade 5 school with 600 learning spaces in the Heartland community and an Airdrie Kindergarten to Grade 8 school with 900 learning spaces.
The Government of Alberta requires the district to submit the Rocky View Schools Capital Plan by April 30. The government then uses the Capital Plans submitted by school districts to plan provincial funding.
Rocky View Schools received no funding for these priorities in the Alberta Budget 2021.
The three-year Capital Plan for Rocky View Schools speaks to the exponential growth communities have been experiencing, said Board Chair Fiona Gilbert. She added this increase is especially being felt at the high school level.
“It [the Capital Plan] gives us a snapshot picture of what our needs are going to be for student spaces over the next number of years,” Gilbert said.
Bow Valley High School was built in 2000 and was designed to include a second phase of construction as the population of students increased in Cochrane.
In 2020 the school was at 98 per cent capacity and it is expected to be at more than 100 per cent capacity in 2022, said Director of Facility Planning Colette Winter. She added the student population of the school has grown by about five per cent every year.
"The need is there now so we would like to build the second phase— It's the highest priority on our list," Winter said.
She said it would be difficult for the only other high school in the area, Cochrane High School, to take on additional students to help ease Bow Valley High School enrollment pressures. Cochrane High School currently sits at 88 per cent capacity.
Overall, Rocky View Schools will reach a critical point in 2026 when the number of students will outstrip the spaces available in schools. If no capital projects break ground, enrollment will pass the district's capacity of 30,000 students.
“Without the addition of any new student spaces between now and 2026 all schools across Rocky View Schools will be at 100 per cent capacity,” Gilbert said. “We will hit a point when all of the chairs are filled by the students.”
Modular units can serve as a short-term solution to address some of the student needs, but the long-term solution remains building new infrastructure in Cochrane.
“In the next four years, it will be increasing about another 25 per cent. It’s desperately needed, the new student spaces,” Gilbert said. “Cochrane has boomed with young families and those kids are getting older. We absolutely knew it was coming.”
To help ease the capacity crunch, Rocky View Schools has requested seven modular units for Bow Valley High School for September 2021. Rocky View Schools has not received confirmation from the provincial government if the units will be received.
The Kindergarten to Grade 5 school planned for Heartland will be essential in matching the towns growing population.
In Cochrane students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 accounted for 3,792 students in 2020. Looking forward it is expected these demographics will increase by about 200 students every year.
The Heartland elementary school has been in the works for many years and is shovel-ready once it receives funding from the province.
Winter noted Cochrane student districts were redesigned in April 2020 to help accommodate growth in newer areas of Cochrane.
"That space in these schools in Cochrane is reaching a point where we will be well overcapacity in the next six years or so," Winter said. "The need for an elementary school in Cochrane is essential."
It takes about three years to build a school from the initial approval stage of funding to the school opening for students.
Rocky View Schools 2023 budget year capital requests include schools in Chestermere, Airdrie, Springbank and Cochrane.
The 2024 budget year includes schools in Cochrane, Langdon, Crossfield and Airdrie.
Rocky View Schools has experienced a student growth of about 1,000 students, around four to six per cent, each year. Winter noted 2020 experienced a drop of -3.38 per cent, an anomaly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winter said Rocky View Schools' growth is double those of larger school districts in Calgary, this is partly due to families with school-age children moving into communities and partly due to natural growth.
Gilbert said the situation facing schools in Cochrane is a story shared by schools across the province, as the need for new facilities outweighs the provincial funding currently available.
While it can be disappointing for families to see funding delayed for critical projects in Rocky View Schools, Gilbert said, she encourages them to speak with their MLAs to continue to advocate for new student spaces and funding for public education.
Rocky View Schools remains committed to advocating for additional spaces and will be requesting a meeting with the Minister of Education Adrianna LaGrange and Minister of Infrastructure Catherine McKenna in the near future.
“From a Cochrane perspective, families know that we are increasing in enrollments. It’s been a challenge for us for a number of years now as we continue to see the enrollments increase,” Gilbert said. “Rocky View Schools has done a relatively good job of accommodating students as best we can and families have been very supportive.”
