A $43-million school consolidation in mature west Edmonton neighbourhoods is now eighth on the list of capital funding priorities for the Edmonton Public Schools board.
A proposal to replace Youngstown, Brightview, Mayfield and Britannia schools with two new facilities was approved by a majority of trustees at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Shelagh Dunn, who represents the affected neighbourhoods, was the only trustee to vote no. Trustee Nathan Ip was absent for Tuesday’s meeting.
Dunn said she worried some people in the affected neighbourhoods may not have been able to take part in the two-year consultation process, so she wanted the district to gather more information about the impact of a school closure.
“I worry that without that additional data this decision could be biased against vulnerable neighbourhoods,” she said.
Meadows high school tops list
The district wants to build a new kindergarten to Grade 9 school for 700 students on the site of Britannia School at 160th Street and 104th Avenue.
The other would be a new pre-kindergarten to Grade 3 school on the site of Mayfield school, at 159th Street and 109th Avenue. That school would hold 400.
Youngstown and Brightview schools would close.
Three of those schools are underused, trustees were told. The four buildings range in age from 50 to 59 years old and would cost $34.5 million to update and repair.
Even if repairs went ahead, a report prepared by administration says, “the schools would still be laid out and function like a school built in the 1950s.”
The project to consolidate the schools needs provincial funding to proceed. There are seven other projects on the list so its not clear when it will proceed.
A new high school for the Meadows neighbourhood in southeast Edmonton remains at the top of the list.
Trustee Bridget Stirling said schools in the area are overcrowded, meaning students have to travel a long way.
She said J. Percy Page High School is over capacity, and a draw has to be performed each year to determine who goes to W.P. Wagner.
Three-year capital plan 2019-2022
Year 1
1. High school for the Meadows area, grades 10 to 12 (phase 1)
2. Keswick School, kindergarten to Grade 9
3. Delton replacement school, kindergarten to Grade 6
4. Spruce Avenue replacement school, grades 7 to 9
5. Glenridding Heights, grades 10 to 12 (phase 1)
6. Queen Elizabeth High School modernization or replacement
Year 2
7. Edgemont, kindergarten to Grade 9
8. Britannia consolidation project
9. Harry Ainlay High School modernization
10. McConachie grades 7 to 9
11. Glenridding Heights, kindergarten to Grade 6
12. Mckee modernization or replacement
13. Rosenthal kindergarten to Grade 6
14. Westglen modernization or replacement
Year 3
15. Rosslyn consolidation – concept still TBA
16. Hawks Ridge, kindergarten to Grade 6
17. Lendrum modernization or replacement
18. Weinlos modernization or replacement
19. Riverview, kindergarten to Grade 9
20. Glenridding Heights, grades 7 to 9 (Phase 2)
21. McNally High School modernization or replacement
22. Two high school additions (locations not specified) phase 2
23. Space for students in mature communities (locations unspecified)