Yesterday, the Province released details on 26 new school projects in Alberta, including two new schools in Airdrie: One for Rocky View Schools, and one for Calgary Catholic School Division.

Colleen Munro, Chair of the Rocky View Board, was at Finance Minister Joe Ceci's announcement in Calgary, and Munro says the division is excited about the prospect of a new school.

"To have our top priority approved for a build out occupancy about 2020, that helps us with our ever increasing student growth."

While a new school will help, Munro says it is far from everything the division needs. Rocky View has expressed concern about utilization rates of their schools, with explosive growth occurring in Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere.

At the announcement, Minister Ceci said that the Province plans to unveil 24 more school projects in the 2018 budget, and according to Munro, Rocky View will aim for at least of of those projects to be in our division

"Our work in Rocky View as a board of trustees is to make sure that all ministries - the ministry of education, infrastructure - understand that we are ever growing, ever increasing, the students keep coming to us, and having the core space to house them doesn't get solved with one new school approval."

As for when the new school will be built, Munro couldn't say. Although Rocky View has a location picked out in Hillcrest, the entire process is not in the school division's hands.

"Our planning department will be working with both ministries, education and infrastructure, to start all of the approvals that need to be done in order to get the school going."

 

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