New Catholic Schools Urgently Needed to Address Growing Enrolment
March 22, 2023
The Board of Trustees approved the 2024-2027 Capital Plan at the March 22, 2023 Public Meeting of the Board. The first year of the three-year plan highlights the urgent need for full funding of six new schools and one replacement school.
- New K-9 school in Heritage Valley/Cavanagh (planning funding approved)
- Replacement K-9 school in Beverly/Clareview - Consolidation of St. Jerome Catholic Elementary,
St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School, and St. Nicholas Catholic Junior High Schools
(design funding approved) - New K-9 school in North Edmonton/Crystallina Nera East (pre-planning funding approved)
- New K-9 school in The Meadows/West Laurel
- New K-9 school in Riverview/Rivers Edge
- New High School in The Meadows/Silver Berry
Edmonton Catholic Schools is experiencing unprecedented enrolment growth. As of September 29, 2022, more than 45,000 students were registered in ECSD. By 2026, it is projected that enrolment will surpass 50,000 students.
“We cannot address our enrolment pressures until new schools are built,” said Board Chair Sandra Palazzo. “Over the past ten years, enrolment has increased by 12,000 students. The capital projects we have received provide space for only half of this growth.”
Addressing Enrolment Pressures in Growing Communities
All but one of the projects in the first year of the Capital Plan are new schools in Edmonton’s newer neighbourhoods.
Our first priority, a new K-9 Catholic school, would serve families in Heritage Valley/Cavanagh, which is one of Edmonton’s fastest-growing communities.
“This school is critically needed to relieve overcrowding at four neighbouring schools, especially Monsignor Fee Otterson Catholic Elementary/Junior High School, which is full and cannot add any more modular classrooms. In addition, the student population at this school is expected to double over the next ten years,” explained Chief Superintendent Robert Martin.
New Construction Funding Process
As part of Budget 2023, the Alberta Government introduced a new way of funding school projects, adding support for planning and pre-planning. Two of our capital priorities (Heritage Valley/Cavanagh and North Edmonton/Crystallina Nera East) are listed for planning or pre-planning.
Divisions must resubmit projects every year to be considered for full construction funding.
“Much of the planning work for these two schools is already complete, and we are ready to start construction. However, these projects cannot proceed until they receive additional approvals for design and construction. It will then take approximately three years for those schools to be built and opened,” said Martin.
The ECSD Board of Trustees will continue advocating for enough learning spaces to provide an excellent Catholic education in every quadrant of the city.
“Every dollar we invest in our students and schools is an investment in Alberta’s future. We want to see the best for our province, and an excellent education system with engaging schools will get us there,” said Palazzo.
The 2024-2027 Capital Plan outlines a total of 15 projects. It will now be sent to Alberta Education for review and consideration for future funding.