Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the government has approved the School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) to respond to the province’s exploding student enrolment growth. Under the SCAP, Smith said the Alberta government will be increasing its kindergarten to Grade 12 capital budget for new school spaces and modernizations to about $8.6 billion over the next three years. “This will allow us to complete actual construction on approximately 50,000 new student spaces over the next three years — and to complete and open over 150,000 new spaces over the four years after that,” said Smith in a Tuesday televised address. “This is quite literally the fastest and largest build our province can manage given available construction workforce capacity and the time it takes to permit, prepare, and service available school sites.” .While most of these school construction funds will go to building new schools, Smith said the Alberta government will need to implement a stop gap measure as it ramps up construction capacity. That is why SCAP will fund the purchase of new specialized modular classrooms to provide more than 20,000 new student spaces over the next four years. Since the Alberta government is committed to providing school choice for parents, she said it will be using a portion of this new funding to pilot the Charter School Accelerator Program to add 12,500 new charter school student spaces over the next four years. It is developing a pilot project for non-profit private schools to incentivize spending to create student spaces at a reduced per-student cost to taxpayers. The premier went on to say there is no time to lose in getting SCAP off the ground. To accelerate school construction immediately, she said cabinet has approved full construction funding for new school projects, but it needs an all-hands-on-deck approach to build more before the end of this school year.In many situations, she said the only element holding back construction of a new school is a school board or municipality not having the site prepared or permitted for immediate construction work. That is why she is calling on all school boards to work with their respective municipalities and Alberta Education on an expedited basis to get priority school sites permitted, serviced, and prepared for immediate construction work. While the Alberta government wants more public schools, she said the same goes for charter schools. She added they should bring it proposals and permits for new school projects and renovations that will result in new student spaces and will work with them on making an appropriate level of funding available depending on their needs. When it comes to municipalities, she asked them to make this a top priority in their communities, especially in high-growth areas such as Calgary, Edmonton, Rocky View County, and other growing mid-sized cities. She said municipalities should permit and service the sites for public, Catholic, charter, and private schools. In addition to education, she said provincial growth will necessitate expansions and spending in areas such as healthcare and transportation infrastructure and that is being worked on daily. However, SCAP is ready to start now. She said everyone has to “work together to build the schools, create the spaces and hire the teachers we need so our children have what they need to flourish, grow and build their lives with.” This is because providing the next generation of Albertans with opportunities at home is what the Alberta Advantage is about. She called Alberta “a beacon of freedom, opportunity, quality of life and prosperity for millions across our country and around the world.” In response, she said this success comes with growth challenges. Smith concluded by saying residents are Albertans. She said there has never been and will never be a challenge too large for them to overcome and conquer together. “May our province forever remain strong and free,” she said. The Alberta government said in July it will be providing $215 million to school authorities to allow them to adjust their planning for the upcoming school year. Smith said this funding can be used to hire more teachers and support staff and to ease operational pressures. “Our intent is to prevent cost pressures from impeding our ability to provide quality education,” she said..Alberta government to spend $215 million on managing school enrolment growth
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the government has approved the School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) to respond to the province’s exploding student enrolment growth. Under the SCAP, Smith said the Alberta government will be increasing its kindergarten to Grade 12 capital budget for new school spaces and modernizations to about $8.6 billion over the next three years. “This will allow us to complete actual construction on approximately 50,000 new student spaces over the next three years — and to complete and open over 150,000 new spaces over the four years after that,” said Smith in a Tuesday televised address. “This is quite literally the fastest and largest build our province can manage given available construction workforce capacity and the time it takes to permit, prepare, and service available school sites.” .While most of these school construction funds will go to building new schools, Smith said the Alberta government will need to implement a stop gap measure as it ramps up construction capacity. That is why SCAP will fund the purchase of new specialized modular classrooms to provide more than 20,000 new student spaces over the next four years. Since the Alberta government is committed to providing school choice for parents, she said it will be using a portion of this new funding to pilot the Charter School Accelerator Program to add 12,500 new charter school student spaces over the next four years. It is developing a pilot project for non-profit private schools to incentivize spending to create student spaces at a reduced per-student cost to taxpayers. The premier went on to say there is no time to lose in getting SCAP off the ground. To accelerate school construction immediately, she said cabinet has approved full construction funding for new school projects, but it needs an all-hands-on-deck approach to build more before the end of this school year.In many situations, she said the only element holding back construction of a new school is a school board or municipality not having the site prepared or permitted for immediate construction work. That is why she is calling on all school boards to work with their respective municipalities and Alberta Education on an expedited basis to get priority school sites permitted, serviced, and prepared for immediate construction work. While the Alberta government wants more public schools, she said the same goes for charter schools. She added they should bring it proposals and permits for new school projects and renovations that will result in new student spaces and will work with them on making an appropriate level of funding available depending on their needs. When it comes to municipalities, she asked them to make this a top priority in their communities, especially in high-growth areas such as Calgary, Edmonton, Rocky View County, and other growing mid-sized cities. She said municipalities should permit and service the sites for public, Catholic, charter, and private schools. In addition to education, she said provincial growth will necessitate expansions and spending in areas such as healthcare and transportation infrastructure and that is being worked on daily. However, SCAP is ready to start now. She said everyone has to “work together to build the schools, create the spaces and hire the teachers we need so our children have what they need to flourish, grow and build their lives with.” This is because providing the next generation of Albertans with opportunities at home is what the Alberta Advantage is about. She called Alberta “a beacon of freedom, opportunity, quality of life and prosperity for millions across our country and around the world.” In response, she said this success comes with growth challenges. Smith concluded by saying residents are Albertans. She said there has never been and will never be a challenge too large for them to overcome and conquer together. “May our province forever remain strong and free,” she said. The Alberta government said in July it will be providing $215 million to school authorities to allow them to adjust their planning for the upcoming school year. Smith said this funding can be used to hire more teachers and support staff and to ease operational pressures. “Our intent is to prevent cost pressures from impeding our ability to provide quality education,” she said..Alberta government to spend $215 million on managing school enrolment growth
