Edmonton will see 10 new school projects funded by Alberta\u2019s Budget 2026.<\/p>\n
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced on Monday Edmonton will be home to 10 of the 40 school projects promised in the budget. The city now has a total of 37 school projects underway in various stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Schools Now initiative that we began in September 2024 to respond to this growth pressure will add and renovate approximately 200,000 student spaces, so it will absolutely address that pressure that was over the course of the last few years and help to make up for previous years,\u201d Nicolaides said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Budget 2026 allocated $3.3 billion over three years to create and update school spaces. There are currently 161 active school projects across Alberta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year Edmonton Public Schools will receive funding for four schools, Edmonton Catholic Schools will receive funding for three schools and funding is allocated to build three francophone schools.<\/p>\n
Nicolaides said school projects typically take four to five years from the planning stage to completion stage.<\/p>\n
Edmonton Catholic Schools board chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said the division\u2019s overall utilization rate is 102 per cent and nearly 50 per cent of their schools are at capacity. High schools are at 112 per cent utilization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe need for new schools is real and urgent,\u201d Palazzo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly half of our schools are operating beyond their intended capacity \u2014 even after adding 39 modulars to our two classrooms. These schools simply do not have the space to support further growth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Infrastructure Minister Martin Long said 16 schools are anticipated to be completed in 2026. The Rundle Heights K-9 school is closest school to being completed in Edmonton and is expected to open in November.<\/p>\n
The school projects are part of the province\u2019s $8.6 billion Schools Now program launched in 2024.\u00a0Alberta intends to create more than 200,000 new school spaces by 2032.<\/p>\n
Budget 2026 allocates $600 million over the next three years to the modular classroom program to add around 17,000 new spaces. The program will receive $200 million each year.<\/p>\n
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