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RVS requests modular unit relocations to accommodate enrolment growth

Rocky View Schools want to move modular units from schools currently at lower capacity to schools within the division who are already at maximum capacity.
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Rocky View Schools is seeing continuous student growth district-wide, leading to the need to relocate existing modular classrooms.

In order to accommodate the growing student population within Rocky View Schools (RVS), the school is submitting a funding request of $1.6 million to the Government of Alberta to move 10 existing modular classrooms from several RVS facilities to those with the highest critical need.

If the request is denied by the province, the board of trustees reluctantly authorizes the use of 2021-22 funds to support the relocation of the units within the division.

During the board meeting on March 24, several trustees spoke to the fact they don’t want to set a precedent of letting the government “off the hook” by allowing the province to continue downloading costs onto municipalities and school divisions.

“For the next couple school years, we will need new modulars to increase capacity and new relocations,” said Ward 3 (Airdrie) trustee ​​Todd Brand.

He added his concerns are about sending a message that the division will be able to handle this situation going forward. While he hopes he is wrong, he predicted the government would not reward the division for finding solutions to their capacity problems.

According to Colette Winter, RVS’ director of operations, the public school division put in a request last fall for 18 additional units for schools already above or reaching 100 per cent capacity in their current buildings. The government has not responded to that request, Winter noted, nor any requests across the province.

Without the additional units, Winter explained the division will have to move forward in a different way to accommodate next year’s growing student enrolment.

RVS staff recommended moving 10 units from schools currently at lower capacity to schools already maxed out. The growing number of students could mean those units would need to be moved back to their original schools, or replaced with new units, in a few years.

“These are critical needs, and we’re looking to take them from schools being utilized 85 per cent or less,” Winter explained.

The five schools with the highest need include Mitford School in Cochrane – currently at 103 per cent capacity – and Fireside School in Cochrane, which is at 104 per cent capacity.

Other schools include Northcott Prairie School in Airdrie at 103 per cent capacity, and George McDougall High School in Airdrie at 104 per cent capacity.

Winter noted the community of Fireside will see a new Catholic school being built soon, which may take some pressure off Fireside School.

Currently, RVS staff are working on which modular units to take from which schools and making sure they all fit. Potential donor schools, all below 75 per cent capacity, include Prince of Peace School, A.E. Bowers School, Ralph McCall School, Coopers Crossing School, and Elbow Valley Elementary School.

Board chair and Ward 6 (Cochrane) trustee Fiona Gilbert said it is disappointing to be in this position, but that additional space is a necessity for kids in the next school year.

Trustees each spoke about the inefficient use of money and were disappointed they had not heard back from the government about the 18 units requested in the fall.

Winter noted that even if the Alberta government denies the funding request, they still need to provide approval to move the units as they belong to the province.

She added if the provincial government were to come back and approve the 18 additional units, they likely wouldn’t be ready by September, as the division is still waiting on previously approved units from last spring.

“I think what it comes down to is that it’s better to move modulars than students,” said Ward 3 (Airdrie) trustee Melyssa Bowen. “At the very least to manage this situation, it’s nice to have this option.” 

Gilbert noted the theme among the responses from all trustees was that they were not happy about the current situation and the decision they were making.

Earlier in the meeting, RVS staff noted one-third of the student population is already in modulars and that new school builds are in critical need. The division’s 2023-26 capital budget highlights the need for new schools in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Chestermere.

The division is still waiting on modular units that were approved in the spring of 2021, but due to supply chain issues, they aren’t available. Instead, schools operating above capacity have resorted to putting up temporary walls, combining classrooms, or using learning commons such as libraries and gyms.

Combining classrooms takes away from the learning experience, noted RVS Superintendent Greg Luterbach, and using learning commons means books and equipment are on carts in the hallways.

“We are in a critical place today to advocate to the government to get this funding in place for our students because in three years, there’s not going to be room for all of our students to attend school and that’s a concern,” Gilbert said.

Brand added that new students are coming into the public education system provincewide, which means an increased tax base, which should be spent on accommodating the students by building new schools.

“This isn’t a big ask – it should be a simple and easy ask,” he said.


Masha Scheele

About the Author: Masha Scheele

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