Keeping up with growth within the Rocky View School division is extremely challenging. 

With an influx of 1000 new students each year, RVSD is not wishing for new schools but desperately needing them.

At the RVS board meeting on March 15, a much-needed addition to Bow Valley High School (BVHS) topped the list of the 2019-2022 capital plan. While the high school was further down the capital priority list last year, Fiona Gilbert, Ward 6 Rocky View School Trustee and Board Vice Chair, shares the new request is currently sitting at number three and is desperately needed. "We have seen two new K-8 schools open here in the last two to three years and with 800-900 capacity in those buildings we know that the high schools are going to get full."

With Bow Valley being the designated high school for all new(er) Cochrane communities, Gilbert shares it is taking the brunt of Cochrane's growth. While the new request is to double the population at BVHS, it is needed. "It's not just popping some modulars on at the backside, it's an actual full construction and will include a gym, learning commons, CTS space, auxiliary space and additional classrooms. It would allow for an expansion of programming, doubling the capacity and adding in a lot more learning opportunities for the kids."

While the board voted in favour of the capital plan, the actual project won't be completed for some time. "With the timelines of government, we wouldn't expect to see any approvals from this particular capital plan until this time next year. So we're talking March 2019, and then from there, it will be probably a two-year build."

With Cochrane high schools becoming desperate to house more students the good news is the expansion has been planned since it first opened. Not having to deal with challenges of whether the site is ready or not, Gilbert is hoping there won't be as much of a time lag with design work already being completed. The new capital plan is asking for BVHS to accommodate 700 more students, compared to the previous request of 300. While Gilbert would have loved this project to be approved a year ago she recognizes that all communities, including Cochrane, are in need. 

The other school that topped the 2019 priority list was a K-5 school for the community of Heartland. While Gilbert shares it would have been great to see another K-8 school, spacial restrictions on the land will keep the student population down. Looking into the future, attendance boundaries would need to be shifted which will be welcome news to RancheView School which is predicted to be over 900 students by 2020. Gilbert is only guesstimating that students who would be designated to Heartland would eventually make their way to Mitford barring consultation and board approval. "We are talking three, four years from now so it's hard to say with certainty...we're just making best guesses."

Another challenge facing the school division is school sites need to be considered 'shovel ready' to be placed on the capital list or approval is dismal. With the school site in Heartland being anticipated to be ready by fall if there are any lags in timing that project will most likely be bumped. "They (provincial government) want things to be ready on the ground and not waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. So we have to apply as much pressure as we can onto municipalities and developers to ensure timely approvals for deep servicing and grading of the site so that we can check the box to say, yes, this site is ready and we're ready to build."

There was discussion around whether the government would allow the division to do some predesign work before a site is ready but that approval remains unknown at this time.

While the hope is that all schools on the capital list receive funding, with a provincial election in 2019, nothing is for certain. "We have lived this before in Cochrane. Going back 6,7,8 years when we went 5 or 6 years without any school builds or approvals across Rocky View Schools it really impacted the Cochrane area where we had to basically make a portable school in the play yard of Mitford to accommodate the growth. The NDP government has been very good to schools provincially by committing to do the builds and we hope that that continues. If there is a change of government I hope they see the need for these growth areas and support public education and have a place for these kids to go to school. It's not that we want big fancy new schools we just want a place for kids to go to school and learn without being squished into gyms and learning commons."

As Gilbert looks to the long-term future she anticipates seeing a new high school on the northwest side of Cochrane, another K-9 school on the south side of the river, as well as a secondary school coming to Sunset Ridge. There are many factors at play when it comes to predicting how to accommodate students over the upcoming years and much of it, unfortunately, is not known.

The capital budget needs to be in the provincial inbox before the end of March 2018 for school approval announcements in 2019. The Rocky View School Board will have an opportunity to revise the list if need be this fall.

A list of projects on the 2019-2022 Capital Plan can be found in priority below:

 2019 Budget Year

  • Langdon Junior/High School
  • Chestermere K-9
  • Bow Valley High School Expansion
  • Airdrie K-9
  • Cochrane K-5

2020 Budget Year

  • Springbank K-9
  • Airdrie K-9
  • Chestermere K-9
  • Chestermere High School

2021 Budget Year

  • Langdon K-5
  • Crossfield K-5
  • Airdrie K-9
  • Cochrane K-9
  • Airdrie High School