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New central Alberta school moves to design phase

$251 million in new funding for school projects
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FILE - Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced funding for new school projects. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Funding to design a new middle school in Penhold was one of 15 school projects announced by Alberta Education on Friday.

The province is investing $251 million over three years in new funding for new schools in Calgary, Edmonton and Camrose; modernizations in Acme, Cochrane, Evansburg and Milk River; design funding for schools in Sherwood Park, Raymond, Manning, Penhold and Valleyview; and a water main repair for a school in Slave Lake.

Associate superintendent Shawn Russell said a new school for Penhold has been the number one priority for Chinook’s Edge School Division for several years. Utilization at Penhold schools is at 109 per cent.

“We certainly need the space,” Russell said.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to design and get it ready to the point when it could be built. We’ll be involving all the appropriate stakeholders to make sure that we design a building to take us through decades to come.”

The jurisdiction is waiting to find out how much funding will be allotted to design the Grade 4 to 8 middle school which will replace Penhold Elementary built in 1961.

Beacon Hill Elementary School, which opened in Sylvan Lake in 2017, was the last new school for Chinook’s Edge.

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“As Alberta’s Recovery Plan continues to drive our economic recovery, we know we need a strong education system to equip our next generation with the tools and skills they need to succeed in our modern, diversified economy. These new and upgraded schools will do just that, while creating more jobs and making life better for Alberta families,” said Premier Jason Kenney at Friday’s press conference held in Calgary.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said the province is meeting the need for additional classroom space across the province while creating healthy and safe learning environments for students and teachers.

“This investment shows our unwavering support for student learning in state-of-the art schools that will also benefit parents and communities,” LaGrange said.

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NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman said Friday’s announcement fails to adequately address the critical space crunch in Alberta schools, and operational funding included in last week’s provincial budget isn’t much above population growth or inflation.

“We know that Alberta needs more schools and needs more teachers, but we don’t know exactly how many because the UCP is now, for the first time, refusing to disclose even projections for how many students will enter kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms this fall,” Hoffman said.



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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