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New school at Sunset Ridge given go-ahead by province; expected to open by 2016

It’s official: Cochrane will receive a new K-8 school that will house up to 900 students.
Bruce Pettigrew holds a handful of gravel from the future sight of Cochrane’s newest K-8 elementary school May 2. The new school will be built in the community of
Bruce Pettigrew holds a handful of gravel from the future sight of Cochrane’s newest K-8 elementary school May 2. The new school will be built in the community of Sunset Ridge in north Cochrane.

It’s official: Cochrane will receive a new K-8 school that will house up to 900 students.

The school, which will be located in Sunset Ridge and expected to open in 2016, will ease what has been growing capacity issues in several Rocky View Schools (RVS) locations in Cochrane, specifically at Glenbow Elementary School.

Premier Alison Redford made the announcement April 30, giving the green light to 21 new schools in the province. The K-8 school was at the top of RVS’ priority list in its 2013-2016 Capital Plan.

Though he views the announcement as a definite positive, RVS board chair Bruce Pettigrew said the division would need to open three new schools every two years just to keep up with demand.

“We have such huge growth in our communities,” said Pettigrew. “The pressure just keeps coming (and) we keep working with the province to address those (accommodation) needs.”

Pettigrew added that the need for two new elementary schools in Airdrie have not yet been met by the province, and with Redford’s promise of 50 new schools in Alberta, he is hopeful the shortage will be addressed this fall.

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