{"id":792214,"date":"2026-07-10T06:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T06:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/792214\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T06:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T06:11:08","slug":"province-fast-tracks-16-calgary-school-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/792214\/","title":{"rendered":"Province fast-tracks 16 Calgary school projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

With help from a provincial cash boost, a school near you may be opening sooner than you thought.<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s government has accelerated 16 Calgary school projects and 41 across the province, as part of its Schools Now program.<\/p>\n

The acceleration is expected to cut around nine months of construction time off each project, according to the province.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE), who are receiving 12 of the city\u2019s 16 accelerations, CBE Board of Trustees Chair Laura Hack, said that the announcement ensures progress is made towards needed classroom space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for this commitment to addressing our urgent and ongoing need for more space for students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of these projects is the modernization of Annie Gale School, an important investment into aging infrastructure that will create new and updated learning spaces for students for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a school project is accelerated, it is given expedited funding and bumped to the next stage of development, according to Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides.<\/p>\n

Five of Calgary\u2019s 12 accelerated projects are now in the design stage. The remainder are moving into construction.<\/p>\n

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Both Hack and Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) Board Chair Lory Iovinelli said that these accelerations will help take a step towards needed change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Calgarians, we\u2019re fortunate to be celebrating Stampede Week, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. While there may not be any Midway rides or chuckwagons at today\u2019s event, there is certainly plenty to celebrate,\u201d Iovinelli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Schools Now program is definitely an occasion worth tipping our hats to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the CCSD has five projects in the design phase, three partially funded projects, and six fully funded school projects underway, including three new high schools, according to Iovinelli.<\/p>\n

Accelerating projects could cut final cost: Province<\/p>\n

From a government perspective, accelerated projects are chosen based on specific criteria within a three-stage process, Nicolaides said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first stage is the planning phase, where the school division will begin to conceptually plan what that new school would look like and ensure that site readiness is completed. After that, the school can move towards the design phase, where we\u2019ll look at the architectural schematics and drawings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce all of that work is complete, we can move to full construction. You need to ensure that all of the conditions of that one stage are met and then the project, as we\u2019re announcing today, can be ready at any point to move to the next phase.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to information provided to LWC from the CBE, some projects, like the Belmont\/West Macleod High School for example, were unable to be accelerated.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The Belmont\/West Macleod High School) is currently identified as a new school construction project request in CBE\u2019s 2027\u20132030 Three-Year School Capital Plan. The plan was submitted earlier this year, but the project has not yet received provincial approval. The earliest opportunity for approval would be through the next provincial budget cycle, expected in late winter 2027,\u201d a CBE-issued statement reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s Schools Now announcement applies to projects that have already received at least one stage of funding approval, allowing them to accelerate to the next phase (for example, from planning to design, or from design to construction). Because Belmont\/West Macleod High School has not yet been approved, it was not eligible for acceleration through today\u2019s announcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though neither Nicolaides nor Minister of Infrastructure Martin Long could say for sure, accelerating should, in principle, reduce school construction costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy assumption would be that obviously, if we\u2019re able to move faster, then we can deliver that project on a more cost-efficient basis,\u201d Nicolaides said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically, costs can escalate when you drag a project out over a longer period of time. As we see every day, global dynamics can shift prices, energy prices, and other macroeconomic conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long agreed with Nicolaides, stating that inflation impacts construction prices in the same way it impacts everything else, so the quicker a project gets done, the cheaper it is.<\/p>\n

No matter when a new school may finally open its doors, Nicolaides is confident it will have enough teachers to fill its classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, on average, graduate more than 2,000 students from the B.Ed programs that we have from our various universities and colleges across the province,\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll indicators suggest that we\u2019ll be able to continue to recruit in an expedited manner to fill these schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liked it? Take a second to support Kaiden Brayshaw – Local Journalism Initiative on Patreon!<\/p>\n

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