Province declares plans for precedence college tasks throughout Alberta

The province introduced 33 precedence college tasks Wednesday after revealing Alberta would have its largest training price range ever.

The price range, which was tabled Tuesday, allocates $2.3 billion over three years to modernize current colleges and construct new ones.

The training building plan — for grades Okay-12 — contains 58 whole tasks, 47 of that are full (planning and building) tasks, and 11 planning-only tasks.

The province stated buying constructing websites has been the largest roadblock and hopes that the cash budgeted for planning levels will assist transfer this a part of the method alongside.

The price range allotted $372 million to permit for 10 new colleges to be constructed, 16 substitute colleges and 7 modernizations, training minister Adriana LaGrange stated at a information convention in Calgary.

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There will probably be a grand whole of 25,000 extra and new areas throughout the province, together with 4,500 in Calgary and 4,100 in Edmonton.

Building of 13 colleges — throughout the province, together with in Calgary and Edmonton — will start this yr with full funding. A full listing of faculties receiving full building funding may be discovered on the provincial web site.

Edmonton Public College Board trustee Trisha Estabrooks stated at this time’s announcement was extremely anticipated as a result of it’s been a high precedence for years. LaGrange confirmed that the faculties chosen to obtain funding had been chosen from a precedence listing given by college boards throughout the province.

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Estabrooks stated whereas it’s nice that Okay-9 colleges are getting funding, it’s the excessive colleges which can be largely not absolutely funded and feeling the crunch probably the most, together with the Glenridding Heights space within the deep southwest.

That a part of town has seen huge development prior to now 20 years, as new, inexpensive houses have sprung u, attracting households with younger youngsters. In years previous, elementary colleges had been bursting on the seams however now, college students are ageing.

“Once we speak about house crunch at Edmonton Public, it’s in our excessive colleges — that’s why Glenridding was primary on our listing.

“We wanted highschool house. We nonetheless want highschool house.”

There are three excessive colleges in deep southwest Edmonton: Mom Margaret Mary and Lillian Osborne within the Terwillegar space (which is at capability) and the two,000-student Dr. Anne Anderson College on the south finish of the Rutherford space, which simply opened within the fall of 2022.

Already, college students within the southwest are being bussed to overflow colleges nearer to town’s core, corresponding to Strathcona Excessive College.

Estabrooks stated Edmonton Public Colleges will probably be out of highschool house by 2027 on the present speedy fee of enrollment enlargement.

Whereas the brand new funding doesn’t cowl all the highest priorities, it’s begin, she stated. The price range did fund a brand new Okay-9 public college in west Edmonton’s Edgemont neighbourhood.

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One other highschool on the listing to be modernized is John G. Diefenbaker Excessive College in Calgary, which may also see a brand new Okay-9 Catholic college construct in Nolan Hill.

Neighbourhood resident Maidul Shaikh and his son, Ayaan, welcome a college nearer to dwelling.

“I don’t like happening the bus as a result of it takes me so lengthy, I barely even get to see my mates,” stated Ayaan, who travels half an hour by bus to get to high school daily.

“My little child goes far-off — it takes half an hour to get to high school. And I’ve one other one and he goes to kindergarten subsequent yr, however there’s nothing round right here,” Maidul stated of the college scenario in his space.

Fortunately, officers are on their facet and are persevering with to advocate for extra funding regardless of the brand new price range being solely a day previous.

“A brand new college is just one a part of the answer,” stated Medeana Moussa with Help our Youngsters Alberta. “The opposite half is we really need to fund school rooms — we want extra lecturers, we want for EA’s (training assistants) and we want extra assist for all college students.”

To the west of Edmonton, the price range included design funding to switch the 1,227-student Spruce Grove Composite Excessive College that serves half of Parkland County.

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