The new Banff Elementary School’s (BES) second phase was officially announced for funding in provincial Budget 2017.
The Province announced $500 million in funds for 26 new school projects on Tuesday (March 21), which includes the K-8 facility in Banff receiving between $13.5 and $14.4 million for its second – and final – phase, Canadian Rockies Public Schools is reporting.
Alberta Education Press Secretary Lindsay Harvey said CRPS would receive the funds in the next month to begin the second phase. Phase 2 funding includes the new school’s building costs (approximately $10 million), solar panel installations, demolition of the old elementary school and hazmat expenses, among others.
The next step for CRPS is to hire a consultant and then a contractor.
“We’re exploring our options, but the sooner the better,” said Superintendent Chris MacPhee.
The first phase of the BES project is “well underway” to be completed “six weeks” ahead of schedule this spring and is under budget, according to CRPS.
The cost of Phase 1 is $8.4 million and has seen construction of 13 classrooms, office space, and a mechanical room along Squirrel Street in Banff.
The second phase is going to include construction of the remainder of the new school, including approximately another 13 classrooms, a library and gymnasium.
As announced last week, the total budget for Alberta Education in 2017-18 is $9.6 billion.
The funding will include commitments for a 2.9 per cent increase in Inclusive Education and a 1.6 per cent increase to supporting the transportation system.
CRPS was pleased no major cuts were announced as the “economic climate could have made this budget much more difficult on a small rural school division,” said MacPhee.
“Most budget lines have maintained a stable funding dollar value provided by Alberta Education, but our concern always revolves around enrolment numbers because ultimately those dollar values are attached to the number of students registered by September 30 of the year,” wrote MacPhee in an email.
“As well, we have normal operating increases which occur in a given year and the government budget does not factor in those increases.”
MacPhee added school fees isn’t the top issue his rural division faces, though, adding it’s the funding formula that puts a small rural school division like CRPS at a disadvantage for provincial funding.
Schools are funded on a per student basis for students in kindergarten to Grade 9. Grades 10 through 12 are funded on the number of high school credits they take.
For this budget, the province has placed a cap of 45 on the number of credits a school division can get funded for during the school year. CRPS is analyzing how many students acquire more than 45 credits, as this would reduce divisional funding.
“I would stress that our board of trustees is very vigilant in directing leadership to address the challenges and class complexities that exist throughout the system to the best of our ability,” wrote MacPhee. “Similar to last year, we are fortunate to have operational reserves to spend should the need arise.”
On March 2, the provincial government announced Bill 1, an act to reduce school fees, which, if passed, would reduce fees up to 25 per cent by eliminating instructional supply and material fees at Alberta public schools starting at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year.
Included in the act is an eliminated bus fee for parents if their children are bused to the designated school they’re enrolled in from greater than 2.4 kilometres away.
Banff-Cochrane MLA Cameron Westhead said two readings for Bill 1 have passed, and a timeline for the third reading – and final – isn’t set as of yet, but the plan is for the bill is to commence this September.
“This is a really good way for parents to save money,” said Westhead. “We want to send a message and get rid of school fees to make lives better. It’s something parents are annually worried about, and it’s one way that we’re trying to make things a little bit more affordable.”
Should the bill pass, the province predicts about 600,000 Albertan families will save approximately $50 million this year alone.
