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By rdnewsNOW staff

Oriole Park Elementary

Provincial government invests into more school spaces and future projects

Jul 31, 2025 | 9:13 AM

The Government of Alberta has announced it will invest in more school spaces including in central Alberta with the upcoming school year.

This includes 13 school projects in pre-planning across the province thanks to $610,000 in funding including for Wolf Creek Public Schools in Lacombe, Red Deer Public Schools, and East Central Catholic Schools in Stettler.

Red Deer Public Schools say their portion of the funds will go towards the modernization of Oriole Park Elementary School.

The Red Deer Public Schools’ Board of Trustees approved the modernization, as well as other projects in the 2026-2028 Capital Plan, during a meeting in March.

The project calls for the modernization of full mechanical, electrical, architectural and functional systems in the elementary school.

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The province says pre-planning funding helps school boards begin planning for school projects they believe will become priorities within the next three to five years.

Although it is an important first step, pre-planning funding does not guarantee a school project will be built.

In addition, Alberta’s government is investing $50 million to add 62 pre-made classrooms this fall to support schools in managing the growing number of students.

A total of $100 million is expected to deliver 109 new modular classrooms, creating space for 2,725 students and relocating 575 more through 2025 budget commitments.

“Alberta’s government is moving quickly to build new schools and create more classroom spaces, so our students continue to have room to grow and thrive,” said Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare. “This additional funding for modular classrooms will help us get much-needed spaces to some of our busiest schools, while we work as quickly as possible to open the doors to more than 130 school projects underway in the province.”

Among the $50 million invested into the modular classroom program includes two new modulars for the Chinook’s Edge School Division.

These investments in modulars and school planning are all part of the province’s Schools Now program, which includes what the government describes as a generational investment of $8.6 billion to build and update more than 100 schools across Alberta.