Rocky View Schools (RVS) board of trustees approved the 2016 to 2019 capital plan at a special meeting March 30, prioritizing strategies for capital projects in the division.
The plan included requests for 10 new facilities along with various renovation and addition requests. Requests were made based on projections of future attendance at RVS schools.
“We are still growing, even in an economy that has put the brakes on,” said RVS board chair Colleen Munro.
“We need to keep our eyes on the prize when it comes to (the needs of students).”
The new capital plan addresses program and accommodation needs for the division, focusing on small projects after September 2017 and major projects after September 2018.
Among the new facilities requested in the capital plan are a new Cochrane kindergarten to Grade 8, which, if approved, would open in 2017 as part of the 2016 budget year. Also included in the plan was a request to purchase Prince of Peace Lutheran School in Chestermere, which is currently being leased by RVS.
“(At) Prince of Peace, we’ve no place to put those kids,” said trustee Bev LaPeare.
“We are always looking at what our public says to us. Our kids have to be jam-packed before we get approval, it’s frustrating.”
“Let’s get this approved and move forward,” she added.
Also included on the list for the 2016 budget year are renovations and additions to Cochrane High School and W.G. Murdoch School in Crossfield. The price tag for Cochrane High School renovation will exceed $1 million and W.G. Murdoch renovation will land between $250,000 and $1 million and may be considered for non-government funding. Munro said the capital plan reflected the need to meet an expanding student population while dealing with a reduced provincial budget. Education funding in the 2015 provincial budget increased by $145 million, but trails student growth in the province.
Estimates indicate that RVS will see an influx of 1,000 additional students in the fall, but funding will not support the additional 44 teachers needed to support student growth.
“The government’s decision to not fund enrolment growth has changed the educational landscape across this province,” said Munro in a press release.
“We are not only being asked to find efficiencies, we’re being asked to accept an inequitable funding model and Rocky View will be hit hard.”
The capital plan was submitted to the Government of Alberta April 1. New capital projects may be approved for the 2016 budget year.
