The development permit has been issued for the new regional secondary school to be built in Penhold.
The permit was issued in the first week of April. Tricia Willis, the development officer for the Town of Penhold, said the building permit will be issued at a later point.
There are a few more steps to take before construction can begin on the project.
Allan Tarnoczi, an associate superintendent with Chinook's Edge School Division who is in charge of corporate services, said getting the development permit issued is part of the role of the “bridging architect” who is developing a basic plan for the Alberta government.
“They put the whole project out for tender,” Tarnoczi said, adding companies have submitted their proposals and the provincial government is busy reviewing those submissions.
“That process goes on until about the end of May,” he said. The new Penhold school is part of a group of schools being built through public and private partnerships around the province.
Tarnoczi said it's hoped the formal announcement of the award will occur this summer.
He did not want to guess when construction would begin.
“It's always hard to say,” he said. However, he did say the project has a tentative finish date.
“The Alberta government has set a deadline that these schools, all of them, will be open September 2014,” Tarnoczi said.
The new Penhold school will be home to about 500 students from Grade 7-12, he said.
“It's a very exciting project. It meets a need for our students,” Tarnoczi said, pointing out it would reduce ride times for many students.
The new school will be integrated with the Penhold Regional Multiplex in a partnership with the town that Tarnoczi said was “very fortunate.”
He said the town council and staff are working together with the school division to get the maximum use of tax dollars for the project. The partnership will enable students to use the facilities of the multiplex easily, while town residents will have good access to use school facilities.
