At last week's Rocky View Schools board of trustees meeting, the issue of requesting modulars for the 2021 school year was on the agenda. Board Chair, Fiona Gilbert explains, "This is something the board has to do every year. It's a timeline of government that we need to submit by the end of October a list of requests for modular classrooms, otherwise known as portables to address growing enrolment needs while we wait for new schools to be built."

A total of 21 units were requested which is broken down into eight used units which would be relocated from other Rocky View schools and thirteen new unit requests. There is also the need to request the funding dollars to relocate the schools which comes with a hefty price tag of approximately $150,000 per unit.

Of the 21 modular requests, seven are for Bow Valley High School and four are needed at Manachaban in Cochrane.  

Bow Valley High School is currently at 107% capacity and is expected to be at 119% capacity in 2021. The school's over-capacity enrolment puts it high on the RVS capital wish list for expansion. Gilbert says, "We are always hopeful on the expansion, it is still number one on our capital plan." The plan was submitted by Rocky View Schools last year but it is part of the provincial budget for 2021. There is no firm date but usually, the provincial budget is announced sometime in March. Rocky View Schools is hopeful that that Bow Valley expansion will be approved at that time. 

Gilbert says, "Even if that were to be approved next March, we need to be able to accommodate students in the meantime, we can't just pop up a school pretty quick. It is a two and a half to three-year time frame to build something like that so we would need the modulars to accommodate students in the meantime."