On Feb. 4, the Government of Alberta announced Rocky View Schools (RVS) will receive eight new portables.
“Rocky View Schools applied for 19 new relocatable classrooms this year and recently received approval for eight,” said Darrell Couture, associate superintendent of business and operations with RVS, in an email to Rocky View Weekly.
The majority of the new portables will go to the Cochrane area to address the fast-expanding population and overcrowding problems there.
Two of the eight portables will go to Elizabeth Barrett Elementary School in Cochrane, four will go to Mitford School in Cochrane and the remaining two will be sent to Rainbow Creek Elementary School located in Chestermere.
RVS requested 19 new portables in November 2013, including two new portables for Chestermere’s Prince of Peace Lutheran School, and four for Chestermere’s East Lake School, which is set to open in September. A fifth new unit was also requested for Cochrane’s Mitford School but only four were approved.
The RVS request also included a request to relocate nine portables within the jurisdiction but RVS is still waiting for the government to make a decision on that request before the plan can be implemented.
Relocation requests for portables in Rocky View County include five units from Airdrie’s George McDougall High School to be relocated to Mitford School in Cochrane.
“Once we have a completed picture, a revised accommodation plan for each school shall be presented for consideration of the board,” Couture said. “We are hopeful we will be able to submit a revised accommodation plan to the board by March 26.”
In total, 132 new modular units were announced by the government for school boards around the province.
