CATHOLIC BOARD LEFT OUT
Chairman expresses ‘shock,’ ‘disappointment’ over funding snub
Edmonton Catholic schools were snubbed in the latest round of provincial funding, said board chairman Terry Harris.
“We got nothing, so we’re not happy about that,” he said Friday. “It comes as a shock and a disappointment.”
Education Minister David Eggen announced 20 school infrastructure projects — including seven new schools — across Alberta. The move came on the heels of Budget 2018, which allocated $393 million to the projects.
“(They) are spread across every corner of this province and meet a number of distinct needs in our different communities,” Eggen said at a news conference.
But Edmonton Catholic schools was absent from the list.
“It puts us into a real difficult situation,” Harris said, adding the district needs at least two new schools to handle rapid growth as well as three modernizations to deal with aging infrastructure this year alone.
The Edmonton Catholic School District is the only metro board in Alberta that won’t open new schools in 2018-19 and 2019-20, he said. It takes about three years to build a school, starting with the design phase.
Building a new elementary school in southwest Edmonton’s Keswick neighbourhood is the district’s priority, Harris said. That project also topped the wish list last year.
Harris estimated Edmonton Catholic schools have a deficit of about 2,500 learning spaces.
“We need to start biting into that.”
WHERE SCHOOLS ARE BEING BUILT, UPGRADED
But Friday ’s announcement was good news for schools such as Edmonton’s Ecole a la Decouverte, a francophone school that was approved for a new facility.
The school has moved three times in the past decade.
“We’re really looking forward to having a permanent home for the students,” said Nathalie Lachance, board chairwoman for Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord.
It will cut down on bus times as well — some students face an hourlong commute every day, she said.
“Really looking forward to having a more normal transit time.”
Other Edmonton region projects that were announced include a new southwest public school, Heritage Valley Chapelle East, and modernization projects for the Westlawn Cluster and Sherwood Park’s Ecole Pere Kenneth Kearns Catholic School.
Paul Kane High School in St. Albert will be replaced along with Stony Plain Central. Ecole Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School will receive a new addition.
“Overall we’re pleased,” said Edmonton public school board chairwoman Michelle Draper, who noted two of the district’s projects were approved (the Westlawn Cluster and the Chapelle high school).
“These schools will definitely help with our growing district.
“We’re going to continue to advocate for a high school in Meadows (southeast Edmonton),” she added.
Eggen said almost all of the projects are set to begin construction in 2019.
“The infrastructure can start with the planning ... straight away,” he said. “We choose the schools based on-site readiness and so forth.”