Calgary will get “full construction” funding for only one new school and one modernization as part of the UCP government’s Budget 2023 approvals announced Wednesday.
Among the 58 new projects touted by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, only 13 complete builds are approved for funding, while others are on a series of lists defined as getting “design,” “planning” or “pre-planning” funds, with no clear commitment as to when money for construction will arrive.
As part of the 13 provincewide projects, the Calgary Catholic School District will get full construction funding for a K-9 school in Nolan Hill, addressing only one of seven top priorities in its three-year capital plan.
The Calgary Board of Education will get modernization funding for upgrades at John Diefenbaker High School — a $29-million project that has been on the board’s priority list for 13 years — addressing only one of four top priorities in its three-year plan
“We are committed to building schools to help address enrolment growth, classroom complexity and modernizing schools to support 21st century learning,” LaGrange said at the announcement in CCSD’s St. Gianna School in Auburn Bay.
Twenty-five projects remain on planning, pre-planning lists
Other projects within the full construction funding list include a new francophone school in Airdrie and a new Catholic school in Okotoks, as well as projects in Lethbridge, Edmonton and others in rural communities.
Another 20 projects were listed for design funding, but again only one Calgary project was included — a Catholic high school in Rangeview, which has been on CCSD’s capital planning list for years.
Meanwhile, a further 25 projects remained on planning and pre-planning lists, defined as funded for site analysis, scope development and conceptual planning. Among those were five CBE projects and three CCSD projects, including the new west high school that Catholic parents have been demanding for more than a decade.