In hopes of addressing an ongoing space crunch in many of its Cochrane schools, the Rocky View Schools division has re-acquired the building that formerly housed Holy Spirit Catholic School, with the hopes of rejuvenating the space so it can once again host classes in the future.
The school building and associated land located on 129 Powell St. was first built in 1956, and was originally the site of Andrew Sibbald Public School.
In 1993, ownership of the school was transferred to the Calgary Catholic School District, and for the next 29 years, it became the home of Holy Spirit School.
This fall, Holy Spirit students moved into a new school building in Fireside.
But as of Sept. 30, ownership of the old building has been reacquired by RVS, who have plans to make the building ready for students to return by September 2023.
With a current capacity of 332 students, RVS outlined it would be possible to add six modular units to the school and increase the capacity by 150 student spaces.
The division has planned major improvements to the building and grounds in the next year, including exterior painting, re-roofing, interior upgrades, site rehabilitation, and changing the security and fire alarm systems.
The estimated cost of the upgrades is estimated to be $2.8 million, according to a presentation at the Nov. 3 RVS Board of Trustees meeting.
RVS Superintendent Greg Luterbach said he is looking forward to seeing the building modernized, and hopes parents and students alike will eventually get to enjoy the new space.
“We are certainly excited that we are going to be doing some major improvements to that building,” Luterbach said. “And then the question will become what programs, students, grades, school, and area will occupy those 332 odd seats and that’s what we will engage with the community early next year.”
Chair of the RVS board of trustees, Norma Lang, added that the school is well maintained, but is in need of improvements to better serve students.
A name is to be determined as well, Lang said.
“But we will certainly need something better than – ‘The School on Powell Street,” she said.
Although there’s no confirmation about which grades will be offered at the new institution, an upcoming community consultation campaign is planned to see what is needed, generate community ideas, and share ideas to come up with the best plan possible.
“We would like to hear from the Cochrane community and find out what their interests might be in how we populate that school,” Lang said.
“I’m sure our planning department and superintendent have some ideas in their back pocket, but we will be coming out to the community in the new year to ask what Cochrane would like to see.”
The building acquisition comes after RVS reported a 3.7 per cent increase in enrolment this year compared to last year. Division-wide, RVS is operating at a 91 per cent utilization rate. But those figures are higher at some of the division’s urban communities of Airdrie, Cochrane, and Chestermere.
At their last board meeting, RVS trustees approved a motion to request 32 modular classroom units for next year from the Alberta government to help address space concerns. Last year's request for more portables was unanswered.
With these increased enrolment rates continuing to impact RVS institutions, Lang outlined that the upcoming renovation and reopening of the old Holy Spirit building will address some of those concerns.
“Rising enrolment in Cochrane is an issue that we are hoping Powell St. school will help with,” Lang said.
She added RVS is expecting by 2026 to have 4,700 kindergarten-to-Grade 8 students in Cochrane.
“We will have only 3,900 spaces for [students], so by 2026 we are going to have about 882 more students than we have space available in Cochrane,” she warned.
Lang said she is happy to address some of the accommodation concerns for students via the renovation of the school building, but despite being able to accommodate 330 more students, she remains concerned about the future.
“It getting fairly crowded in Cochrane and this school will definitely help,” Lang said. “But it doesn’t change the fact we will continue to be advocating for more schools in Cochrane.”
With an average utilization rate of 97 per cent across all public schools in Cochrane, Lang said the renovation and opening of the new space next year is desperately needed..
“It’s not really something that we cannot not do,” Lang said. “We didn’t explore options into selling the school, or tear it down and convert it to another use.
“We really need to bring this school on board.”
