‘In the meantime we have now no Catholic excessive colleges within the south west, with excessive demand’
![Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange meets with 6th grade students at St. Gianna School in Calgary during a funding announcement.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230301jw033_276110080.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216)
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Calgary households concern massive class sizes will develop much more after the UCP’s new colleges announcement this week solely granted full funding to 2 native tasks.
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As a part of Price range 2023, Schooling Minister Adriana LaGrange introduced funding for as much as 58 new colleges and modernization. However solely 13 certified for full building funding, with the remaining listed for design, planning or pre-planning cash.
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Inside these 13 tasks, solely two have been listed in Calgary – the Calgary Board of Schooling’s modernization at John G. Diefenbaker Excessive College, and the Calgary Catholic College District’s new Okay-9 college in Nolan Hill.
“To get only one measly new college is completely disgraceful,” stated Krista Li, who sits on the West Calgary Catholic Excessive College advocacy group.
“Our college board has misplaced the braveness and the willingness to advocate for us. As a substitute, we have now a council prepared to simply shut up and choose up the items.
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“In the meantime, we have now no Catholic excessive colleges within the southwest, with excessive demand and overcrowding on the present public highschool (Ernest Manning).”
Li estimated class sizes are greater than 40 college students in highschool core programs at Ernest Manning, at seventeenth Avenue and 69th Road SW
![Ernest Manning High School in southwest Calgary.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ernest-Manning-DK-0013.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288)
However dad and mom are additionally annoyed by the lack of awareness on class dimension averages after the CCP eliminated the requirement for boards to report the numbers in 2019.
When requested concerning the coverage change, the UCP stated boards are nonetheless free to report, although it’s not required. However each CBE and CCSD stated they now not report class sizes as a result of they don’t seem to be required to.
“College students know, dad and mom and lecturers know precisely how huge courses are,” Li stated. “It is ridiculous how the federal government and faculty boards are hiding these numbers now.”
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Li and the West Calgary Catholic Excessive College advocacy group have been working for years to maneuver up the board’s capital plan precedence record.
Final yr, dad and mom within the South West have been devastated when the West Catholic highschool was moved from quantity 5 on the precedence record to quantity 9, whereas one other highschool within the deep south group of Rangeview was bumped to quantity 8.
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New southwest highschool strikes additional out of attain for Catholic households
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Catholic excessive colleges try to stability enrollment, scale back overcrowding
In accordance with CCSD’s newest capital plan, Rangeview’s highschool is ranked No. 5, whereas West Calgary’s sits at No. 8.
CCSD officers have been grateful for one new college in Nolan Hill, but in addition acknowledged that they haven’t acquired any info from the province about how a lot funding they may obtain for building.
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“CCSD is presently awaiting additional info concerning this venture. Building prices will differ with the small print relative to approval,” Manique stated Werapitiya-Galle, spokesperson for CCSD, and provides this Okay-9 colleges take 10 to 12 months to design, adopted by 14 to 16 months of building.
CBE officers have been additionally grateful for absolutely funding one modernization at John G. Diefenbaker Excessive College. And whereas that venture is listed as a $29 million enterprise, CBE officers say they haven’t but acquired affirmation of how a lot cash they’re getting.
![Officials say it will cost $29 million to renovate John G. Diefenbaker High School.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Diefenbaker-High-School.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288)
“Though approvals have been introduced, actual quantities and scope of labor for modernization weren’t a part of the announcement,” CBE spokeswoman Joanne Anderson stated.
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“The following steps for these modernization tasks can be led by Alberta Schooling and supported by Alberta Infrastructure and the CBE to additional outline the scope of labor and the related price range required for every venture.
“Till such time as this work is accomplished, we aren’t able to touch upon the overall venture worth or schedule.”
CBE’s priorities largely embrace modernizations after officers instructed board trustees earlier this yr that the county’s new funding method offers most {dollars} to colleges which are at 85 p.c utilization or larger.
However Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman for the advocacy group Help Our College students, argued the UCP was forcing college boards to overcrowd their colleges to get funding.
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“Which means colleges which have manageable class sizes don’t get the funding. . . so what does it imply for the tutorial expertise of our college students, to be in colleges the place class sizes usually are not manageable?”
Moussa added she was shocked that CBE — Western Canada’s largest college board, which welcomed practically 6,000 new college students this yr alone — solely certified for full funding of 1 highschool modernization.
“For this authorities, within the face of such a big surplus, to grant solely Calgary – one of many largest rising municipalities within the nation – just one new college and one modernization is really insulting to Calgarians.”
Alberta Schooling stated Thursday that new colleges and modernizations listed for planning and advance planning are nonetheless a precedence.
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Price range 2023 commits $372 million to tasks this yr, which incorporates $4 million to 14 totally different colleges for planning, website evaluation and scoping, and one other $1 million for pre-planning or conceptual growth of tasks.
Nevertheless, all college boards listed for planning or pre-planning assist should resubmit tasks annually to be thought-about for full building funding.
Calgary Board of Schooling Prime 5 Capital Plan Priorities:
- John G. Diefenbaker Excessive College (modernization $29 million)
- Annie Gale Junior Excessive College (modernization $8.1 million)
- AE Cross Junior Excessive College (modernization $18 million)
- Sir John A. Macdonald Junior Excessive (modernization $14 million)
- Saddleridge Main College Gr. 5-9 (new college $1.2 million)
Calgary Catholic College District Prime 5 Capital Plan Priorities:
- Nolan Hill Okay-9 College (new college $27 million)
- Chestermere Okay-9 College (new college $27 million)
- Redstone Elementary College (new college $22 million)
- Bishop McNally Excessive College (modernization $10 million)
- Rangeview Excessive College (new college $50 million)
eferguson@calgaryherald.com
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