This release was issued under a previous government.
MLA Marie Renaud visits a construction and fabrication class at Paul Kane High School in St. Albert.
The existing school is aging and not designed to meet the educational needs of today’s students. The HVAC and electrical systems have outlived their useful life, and the school needs a more functional physical education and Career and Technology Studies space, which cannot be cost-effectively addressed through renovation of the existing building.
The replacement will address these issues while expanding capacity to 1,500 students. The school project, the largest of those announced as part of Budget 2018, is expected to be open in 2022-23.
“St. Albert is one of the fastest growing parts of Alberta, and we want to continue working with the school authority and city to ensure we meet the needs of the community. This new high school will be an important step to meeting those needs and will make life better for St. Albert’s residents.”
Enrolment in St. Albert’s elementary and junior high schools has been growing consistently. The existing high school space is not sufficient to meet the number of students who will soon enter high school. St. Albert Public Schools has also identified other potential projects for future years to address the upcoming growth of the high school population.
“The Board of Trustees of St. Albert Public Schools would like to thank the Government of Alberta for recognizing our urgent need for high school space. They undertook the study that found this to be the best solution for student learning and strategic growth, and we are so excited to be able to begin the first phase of this initiative by building a replacement Paul Kane High School. This step addresses the need for an update of Paul Kane, as well as beginning to add more student space to the district.”
The new school reflects Alberta’s continued investment in the infrastructure and services needed by families. Investing in 20 new school projects, as well as hospitals and roads, will help the province move forward with economic recovery.
Constructed in 1971, Paul Kane High School serves more than 1,000 students. The replacement school will also include funding for solar panels as part of government’s efforts to reduce long-term electricity costs for school authorities and help protect the environment.