CARSTAIRS - Despite the growing population and subsequent need for new school space, Carstairs was left off the provincial government's list of capital school projects for 2018.
In total, 20 new and upgraded schools were announced on March 23 at a cost of $393 million.
Chinook's Edge School Division superintendent Kurt Sacher said that the news was very disappointing.
"We were looking for 10 additional classroom spaces and an expansion to the gymnasium in Carstairs Elementary," said Sacher. "We do have significant concerns relative to spaces in Carstairs that is becoming increasingly problematic to us. In the fall of 2017 we had applied for relocatables (portables); those were denied on the premise that hopefully we'd get a capital project amount in March.
"By the fall of 2019 we definitely need to have some additional spaces for students freed up in Carstairs just with the populations projected to come through."
Sacher said the board of trustees will be meeting and discussing what options to consider next.
"The board will continue to talk about it," he said. "We just got word. It has always been and will continue to be in the near future -- Carstairs is a top priority from a capital point of view. The board needs to talk about different options down the road for sure but nothing has been decided in that regards because we were hoping for a capital announcement."
Sacher is hoping that the government will reconsider and/or find another time to announce a capital project for Carstairs.
Currently, Carstairs Elementary School (CES) serves 281 students from kindergarten to Grade 2, while Hugh Sutherland School (HSS) boasts 742 students from grades 3-12. According to Alberta Education's utilization formula, CES has a capacity of 304, while HSS has a capacity of 800. CES opened in 2010 as a kindergarten to Grade 4 school.
"We have an empty classroom here but we've also lost two grade levels," said CES principal John Goutsis. "We used to be kindergarten to Grade 4. What's happening in Carstairs is that we have lots of little kids and they're transitioning to the bigger school and they're running out of space over there (at HSS). They're graduating 50 kids and we're sending them 80 to 90 kids – that's where the bubble is happening."
Carstairs-Cremona school trustee Melissa Copley told the Gazette that the Carstairs school expansion remains the top priority for Chinook's Edge.
"We are definitely sensitive to the fact that the government faces increasing challenges with limited dollars," said Copley. "But the community is disappointed that the approval hasn't happened and we as the board will continue to study the situation and look for a solution."
