Latest news with #BishopMcNallyHighSchool
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alberta government commits to fast-tracking delivery of new school projects
The province has pledged funding to fast-track the delivery of 11 school projects across Alberta. Previously announced projects in 10 communities will move forward to either design or construction, depending on how far along they are. Two school projects in Calgary are receiving funding. A new high school in west Calgary will move ahead to construction, while the Bishop McNally High School modernization and addition project will move to the design stage. Funding will also go to modernizing or building new schools in Coalhurst, Donnelly, Falher, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie County, Lac La Biche, Red Deer, Strathmore and Wetaskiwin, according to Wednesday's announcement. Together, the 11 school projects are expected to create 8,000 new and updated student spaces. Funding for the new schools is coming through Alberta's School Construction Accelerator Program — an $8.6-billion plan to add 200,000 student spaces by the fall of 2031. "We are building more schools at a faster rate never before seen in Alberta," said Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in a news release. "Through this innovative approach to building more schools now, backed by our generational investment of $8.6 billion to build more than 100 schools across the province, we will ensure every student in Alberta has the space to engage in the province's world-class education system." The province also announced on Wednesday that it was investing $50 million to provide modular classrooms to 19 school boards. That money will go toward building 50 modular classrooms and relocating 19 others to provide space for 1,650 students. Some of those modular classrooms will be installed before the new school year begins in the fall. Others will be ready for use by the 2025-26 school year. The Alberta government said in March that student enrolment in Alberta has grown by about 89,000 since 2020. Enrolment in the Golden Hills School District, which has schools in Drumheller, Strathmore and other communities north and east of Calgary, grew from 8,655 during the 2020-21 school year to 12,455 during the 2023-24 school year, according to its annual education results reports. Funding for one school project in the district was included in Wednesday's announcement. "Golden Hills School Division extends its appreciation to the Government of Alberta for the approval of a new school to replace Westmount School in Strathmore," said division board chair Laurie Huntley. "This new school will further support our vision of creating dynamic spaces that inspire curiosity, creativity and a strong sense of community." Up to 90 new schools will be built and up to 24 will be renovated or replaced through the School Construction Accelerator Program. Since the program was announced last fall, the province has committed funding for 33 school projects.
Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Construction to be fast-tracked for west Calgary Catholic high school project
A long-awaited Catholic high school in west Calgary is one step closer to being built. Article content Article content Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the third funding stream for the province's School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) in Aspen Woods on Wednesday, including two projects that will benefit the Calgary Catholic School District. Article content The projects receiving funding through the latest round of SCAP include construction of a new Catholic high school in west Calgary, and design-related work for the modernization and expansion of Bishop McNally High School in Falconridge. Article content Article content 'There has been a lot of commentary from parents in west Calgary about the need for a new high school,' Nicolaides told Postmedia ahead of his announcement. 'This project has now moved through the design phase and is ready to begin construction, so we'll be able to provide construction funding to the school division so the project can start to move ahead right away.' Article content Article content Parent advocates have long called on the provincial government to fund a Catholic high school in west Calgary. Currently, Catholic high school students in the southwest attend St. Mary's High School in the Beltline, which can involve nearly an hour's commute each way. Article content 'It's a long commute time, and I do know for a lot of families in the neighbourhood, they'd obviously prefer to have their kids attend school closer to home,' Nicolaides said. 'A lot of them switch and enrol into the public system, (with) Ernest Manning as their designated high school, which cascades and creates other capacity issues.' Article content Article content The new grades 10-12 school will be built at 1579 93rd Street S.W., on the western edge of the city limits, and is expected to open in 2028, states the CCSD's website, which doesn't specify when construction will begin. Article content Article content On the opposite corner of the city, the Bishop McNally modernization project will expand the campus to handle a capacity of 1,880 students, according to the province's major projects portal. Article content 'It is a top project for the school division and we're now able to move it to the design phase, which is a really important stage,' Nicolaides said. 'The school division can really start mapping out what that addition is going to look like and how the space is going to be modernized.' Article content Shannon Cook, chair of the CCSD's board of trustees, said the division is grateful to see two of its highest-priority high-school projects receive funding through SCAP. Article content 'With our student population growing rapidly and our high schools already over capacity, these new builds and modernizations/additions are critical to ensuring our students have access to quality, Catholic education close to home,' she said in a statement. Article content Article content SCAP is an $8.6-billion program that aims to address Alberta's growing student enrolment pressures in the K-to-12 education system, brought on by the province's recent surge in population. Article content As evidence of a worsening space crunch, more than one-third of public schools in Calgary are now operating at or above a 100 per cent utilization rate. Article content 'This growth in population has been quite quick and quite sudden over the past couple years, and it's put significant pressure on our schools,' Nicolaides said. 'That's why we're stepping up to the plate and announcing our plan to invest $8.6 billion to build and renovate more than 100 schools to help address the space needs of our school divisions. There's no question there's a lot of demand and pressure out there.' Article content Article content For SCAP's next funding stream, 11 previously announced school projects will receive either design or construction funding. Article content In addition to the two Calgary projects, Nicolaides said the province will allocate money for school projects in Coalhurst, Donnelly, Falher, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie County, Lac La Biche, Red Deer, Strathmore and Wetaskiwin. The Strathmore project includes design funding for a replacement of Westmount School. Article content When complete, the projects will create more than 8,000 new and updated student spaces. Article content 'Most of the projects we're moving forward are outside of Calgary and Edmonton this round,' Nicolaides said. 'That helps other communities around the province recognize and understand that we're trying to achieve both goals; building space in our fast-growing communities while also ensuring we have the highest quality infrastructure as possible in some of our smaller communities.' Article content
