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The province has invested billions into an ambitious school construction plan, but a new city briefing finds it is creating funding and infrastructure concerns for Calgary.
Currently, the province lists 45 active school projects in various stages of design and construction around Calgary, to accommodate its rapid population growth. But the accelerated development is putting “unprecedented demand” on the city’s joint reserve fund, a rainy day fund used to acquire land for future high schools.
The reserve fund faces a significant shortfall, the briefing said, and is on track to become overdrawn by 2029.
The pressure on Calgary highlights that the city and province need to rethink how new school sites are funded, Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness said, especially as the population booms.
“The funding models for that explosion of population hasn’t followed the demand. And we need to look at how to actually build it,” said Wyness.
Increased student populations creating pressure
Another funding pressure on Calgary is some school projects under construction that have to accommodate more students than originally planned.
Last year, the province increased the student population it expects in new schools going forward, in response to population growth, the briefing said. As a result, infrastructure upgrades need to be funded for some schools already under development.
One example is a high school under construction in Calgary’s northeast Cornerstone neighbourhood. The city said the school was originally expected to hold up to 1,800 students, but the province proposed a design last year for 2,400 students.
The student population hike requires more spending to cover upgrades for modifications to streets, traffic signals and walkways to accommodate more students, teachers and parents.
But the city briefing finds the province has not secured that funding, which raises concerns for some councillors, like Ward 5’s Raj Dhaliwal, that the city will have to cover the bill.
“Extra upgrades [are] not something that we create, it’s created by the decisions that are made by Alberta Infrastructure with the schools. So they should be coming forward with extra funds and not expecting Calgarians, taxpayers to fund it,” said Dhaliwal.
Discussions are still ongoing between the province and city about how to support required upgrades at school sites, said Ministry of Infrastructure spokesperson Alex Cattran.
WATCH | The province unveiled plans for 11 new schools in Calgary, earlier this year:
Province announces 11 new schools for Calgary
The provincial budget includes funding for multiple school projects in Calgary. At a news conference on Friday, officials announced where those projects would be.
“Alberta’s government made it a priority to build more schools to address classroom crowding and complexity due to population growth,” said Cattran via email.
“We would encourage all our municipal partners to listen to their constituents who have been clear that school construction is a priority.”
Schools often not included in community designs
The funding pressures the city is feeling is common in municipalities across Canada where schools are added into completed neighbourhoods, said director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto Matti Siemiatycki.
Siemiatycki said schools should more often be woven into a community’s design from the beginning, instead of being the final piece of infrastructure added into a completed community.
“The school is more than just a place of education. They become like the cornerstone of communities,” said Siemiatycki.
“When designed well, people meet each other over the fence at the drop-off and pick-up, the gymnasium can get used for multi-purpose, same with the playing field. So they play such an important role.”