Dignitaries gather at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School on Thursday for the announcement of full construction funding for a new K-5 Catholic school in Blackfalds. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

500-capacity school

Province announces full construction funding for new K-5 Catholic school in Blackfalds

Mar 7, 2024 | 5:22 PM

The Town of Blackfalds will finally be getting a new K-5 Catholic school.

The announcement was made publicly on Thursday at the St. Gregory the Great Catholic School.

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) says they were told on Monday that they received full construction funding by the government of Alberta.

“The full construction funding for the new Kindergarten to Grade 5 school in the vibrant growing community of Blackfalds marks a significant milestone in our government’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art education infrastructure for our communities. This investment illustrates our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of our students and ensuring they have access to modern, innovative learning environments,” said MLA for Red Deer North and Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange, also former Minister of Education and RDCRS Board Trustee.

RDCRS says over the past several years, Blackfalds has seen tremendous growth, with St. Gregory the Great, the town’s current Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 9 school, having grown by 64 per cent since its establishment in 2017. LaGrange added that while they initially anticipated 250 students for the school, that has a capacity of 500, their first year’s enrollment saw 400 students.

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Town Mayor Jamie Hoover says the school is currently at 132 per cent capacity. To ease the strain, RDCRS Board Chair Murray Hollman said modulars were added to the school and students in Grades 7-9 will be bussed to the St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School in Red Deer, recently opened in Fall 2023.

READ: Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools approves three-year capital plan

“To hear this finally announced, we can breathe easy,” said Hoover, adding the decision was a “no-brainer” for the province and extending his gratitude.

RDCRS officials say the schematic design for the new 500-student school has progressed smoothly since they received design funding from the province in March 2023.

Hoover says the land for the school, in the northwest Aspen Lakes District, is currently undeveloped due to delays. While the Town’s initial plans were to drain stormwater into Lacombe Lake, nearby property owners appealed the decision, but it was later approved this February.

Hoover says while the developer wasn’t able to move forward with a lot of the infrastructure necessary for the institution, they instead donated a portion of the land for the school. The town is now working with Alberta Infrastructure to ensure the land is ready to be developed with proper sewage and electrical systems to meet P3 criteria for construction. Hoover expects shovels to go into the ground this Fall.

LaGrange added that construction costs are typically not shared until after the Request for Proposal has been submitted and accepted.

Hoover says the Town’s new Iron Ridge Secondary Campus is also on schedule, with tours anticipated to be scheduled shortly and students to begin this Fall.

READ: Construction on schedule for Blackfalds high school

LaGrange says the project is part of many in Budget 2024, which advances 43 priority school projects in some of the fastest growing areas in the province. This year, the province approved funding for 19 projects for full construction, 16 for design, and eight for planning, adding for a total of 35,000 new and modernized spaces for students.

In response to criticisms made Tuesday by Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley, who claimed the UCP are underfunding education and the public school system, LaGrange said she should “get her facts straight”.

“I find it disingenuous that she continually puts misinformation out there. We have one of the best publicly funded education systems,” said LaGrange, stating the government has continuously added funds for school board reserves, even during challenging economic times like the pandemic.

She says the one challenge the province is facing is their extreme growth, with over 220,000 people moving to the province in just over one year.

“That’s going to challenge our healthcare system, our education system, some of our social services, but at the end of the day we still are providing excellent education and healthcare in this province,” she said.

READ: Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley stops in Red Deer to share how UCP budget broke promises

The province is one of three in the country offering a publicly funded Catholic education system, supporting choice for parents, she added.

The new school is expected to be ready for occupancy in September 2027.

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