Rocky View Schools (RVS) will continue to face significant accommodation challenges in 2019/20, after being granted just seven of 39 modular units requested to help alleviate overcrowding in schools in Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere.
"There is no question that we were disappointed with the outcome of our modular submission, given we serve three of the fastest growing communities in Alberta and have been trying to keep pace with the exponential increase in student enrolment," admitted Board Chair Todd Brand. "On average, RVS is welcoming 1,000 new students each year, which is equivalent to two schools, hence the critical need for more space."
Approved by the Board of Trustees April 4, 2019, RVS' 2020-2023 Three Year Capital Plan projects the jurisdiction's utilization rate to climb to 100 percent by 2022 unless new schools are approved by the province. To address space issues, RVS is requesting 13 new facilities and one addition over the next three years, with the top three capital projects for 2020 to include a new middle/high school for Langdon, a 700-person addition to Bow Valley High School in Cochrane and a new K - Gr. 9 school for Airdrie.
According to Brand, in RVS' southeast section, which includes Langdon, Chestermere and Indus, the utilization rate is 89 percent. He cited that a new middle/high school in Langdon is critical to avoid a projected utilization rates of 116 percent by 2022. In the rapidly-expanding town of Cochrane, Bow Valley High's utilization rate is 87 percent, with projected enrolment for 2019/20 to be almost at capacity. And in Airdire, RVS' newest K - 8 schools in Airdrie, Windsong Heights and Heloise Lorimer, are both at capacity, resulting in the need for a new K-Gr. 9 school in the city's southwest quadrant.
"Although the utilization rates in Chestermere also are critically high, RVS cannot include it in its 2020 priority list until a site is deemed ready by the municipality," he added.
Supporting a large, diverse student population from growing communities means that accommodation challenges are ever-present. Since 2016, RVS has opened five new schools, relocated modulars, shifted attendance boundaries and reconfigured grades in order to accommodate students.
"One of our priorities is to provide facilities that fit the needs of today's learners and we are hopeful that the incoming government will demonstrate that same commitment to fund and provide adequate space for each and every learner," said Brand.
RVS will have an opportunity to revise and update its priorities in the fall.
