CITY OF CALGARY PUBLIC AND CATHOLIC STUDENTS OVERLOOKED IN SCHOOL CAPITAL PLAN DESPITE GROWING ENROLMENT

CALGARY - Calgary public and Catholic families will not be getting any new schools according to this year’s provincial government Capital Plan, despite growing enrolment in Alberta’s largest city. 

“Jason Kenney has completely neglected students, staff and families in Calgary in this budget” said NDP Education Critic Sarah Hoffman. “There’s not a single new school within Calgary city limits. It’s a slap in the face at a time when the city is already hurting.”

In the Budget 2021 three-year School Capital Plan, there were no new schools for Calgary’s largest school division, the Calgary Board of Education or the Calgary Catholic School District, despite increased enrollment for both districts.

“The UCP’s plan for education is to cram kids into overcrowded classrooms. Yet again, they’re asking parents, teachers, and students to do more with less,” said Hoffman.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) each have a number of new schools in their three-year capital plans. This includes a new CBE middle school in Evanston, as well as the much-needed CCSD West Calgary High School. Combined, the two major school divisions submitted nearly $200 million in priority requests for new school capital within the City of Calgary, and were selected for zero dollars in funding.