Modernization of the Iron Ridge Elementary Campus in Blackfalds has become the top priority for Wolf Creek Public Schools in their capital plan.

In a board meeting this morning (Oct.6), Wolf Creek Public Schools approved the revision of their three-year plan.

Iron Ridge Elementary Campus became number one on their list, followed by a new high school in Blackfalds and lastly the modernization of Rimbey Junior/Senior High School.

Although Rimbey Junior/Senior High School dropped from first to third on the list, Superintendent of Wolf Creek Public Schools Jayson Lovell said the modernization could happen soon than later.

“We have roughly between $3.5 and $4 million that we can apply to that project, which is long overdue. We are very excited, after today’s meeting to have that approved. It’s still on our capital plan as priority number three, but by using our dollars internally, we have the ability to support that project and move it forward very quickly.”

With many students from Blackfalds having to attend Lacombe Composite High School, Lovell said it’s just a matter of time before it reaches max capacity and that a new high school in Blackfalds is crucial.

“Lacombe Composite High School is currently at around 850 students and the trend is certainly for growth in that school to the point where once we reach 2020 we are going to have some pretty significant enrollment pressures there.”

“Finding a solution in Blackfalds really does allow us to have a balanced enrollment and opportunity to really ensure that our spaces are adequate for programming for our students.”

The new school project in Blackfalds is projected to be slightly less than $30 million in cost; the modernization of the Iron Ridge Elementary Campus is slated to cost just more than $6.7 million, while the modernization of Rimbey Junior and Senior High School is expected to cost a little more than $5.2 million.

The next step towards making the upgrades at Iron Ridge a reality, and possibly receive funding for the new high school, is to send their capital plan to Alberta Infrastructure by October 15th.  The hope is to see the approval in the upcoming provincial budget within the February/March timeline.