Design Funding Approved for New SGCHS

March 1, 2023 - Parkland School Division is excited by the news recently announced by Alberta Government that PSD will be granted a replacement school for Spruce Grove Composite High School. This capital request has remained the Division’s top priority annually for the past four capital plans submitted to Alberta Education. 

The Capital Plan submission has always been for a replacement school at a cost of $70-80 million dollars.

Wednesday’s announcement is for design funding for the replacement of Spruce Grove Composite High School. Design investment demonstrates the full commitment by Alberta Government to the school project. Design funding activities include the preparation of construction tender documents such as drawings and specifications. The design phase typically takes 1 year to complete. Full construction funding is subsequently approved at a later time which will determine construction timelines.

Enrolment Pressures

Enrolment projections indicate steady population growth in the City of Spruce Grove. The Division has always insisted that It is essential to address space constraints to accommodate current and future student needs and projected enrolment growth.

Based on the historical grade progression and continued growth, the current Spruce Grove Composite High School building will be at 108% of capacity by September 2023. 

In fact, for the 2022-2023 school year, there are 1,539 students attending grade 7,8 & 9 within Spruce Grove alone. If all things remained the same, in three years, these students would be in Spruce Grove Composite High School, resulting in a capacity of 120% by September 2025 and that’s not factoring future students that would be moving into the area. 

Parkland School Division’s official Three Year Capital Plan recommendation will be put forth at the next Regular Board meeting on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

The recommendation to be voted in includes:

2023-2024 – Year One 

Priority One – Replacement of Spruce Grove Composite High School at a cost of $70-80 million dollars. 

Priority Two – New K-9 School on the East side of Spruce Grove. PARKLAND SCHOOL DIVISION 

2024-2025 – Year Two 

Priority One – Modernization and preservation of Tomahawk School at a cost of $2-3 million dollars. 

Priority Two – Modernization and preservation of Brookwood School at a cost of $12-16 million dollars. 

2025-2026 – Year Three 

Priority One – Modernization and preservation of Forest Green School at a cost of $12-16 million dollars. 

Priority Two – New K-9 School on the West side of Spruce Grove. 

The full announcement can be found on the Alberta Government website.

Budget 2023 supports 58 projects, which includes 13 full construction projects, 20 design, 14 planning and 11 pre-planning projects. In total, there will be nearly 25,000 new and additional spaces for students across Alberta – 9,400 new spaces and more than 15,500 student upgraded spaces. This includes approximately 4,500 new and upgraded spaces in Calgary, 4,100 in Edmonton and 16,300 for the rest of the province.

This investment in education infrastructure includes:

• $372 million for construction and design projects:
• 10 new schools
• 16 replacement schools
• seven modernizations
• $4 million to support planning activities such as site analysis and scope development for 14 projects
• $1 million to pre-plan 11 conceptual projects that are anticipated to become high-priority needs for school jurisdictions
• $1 billion to continue work on previously announced projects
• $300 million over three years in school authority self-directed capital projects
• $279 million to support the maintenance and renewal of existing school buildings through the Capital Maintenance and Renewal Program
• $171 million to support public charter school infrastructure, including investment for a charter hub in Calgary
• $43 million to fund facility upgrades for successful collegiate school applicants
• $93 million for the modular classroom program to address urgent space needs across the province