CBE requests 26 modular classrooms for 2027-28 as 103 schools near capacity limits

Calgary's public school board is asking the Alberta government for 26 new modular classroom units to help manage crowding, a request that marks a pullback from last year's ask but signals ongoing capacity pressures across the district.

The CBE announced the request Tuesday at a Board of Trustees meeting. The 26 new units are proposed for six schools during the 2027-28 school year, alongside four modular replacements and three demolitions. This is down from 46 modular classrooms the province approved in March for the current school year — and the province delivered only half of 64 units the CBE requested last year.

Locations for the new modulars were selected using five-year enrolment data and include MacKenzie Lake, MacKenzie Highlands, MacKenzie Towne, and John A. Macdonald schools. Dany Breton, superintendent of facilities and environmental services, explained that overflowing schools themselves cannot receive modulars because of site constraints — existing units already on property or parcel sizes that don't accommodate another structure.

The request reflects an unusual squeeze: the CBE experienced exceptional enrolment growth between September 2021 and 2024, then saw a slight dip over the past two years. Yet 103 schools are projected to exceed 90 per cent utilization over the next three years, and 10 schools are especially over capacity right now. Chief superintendent Joanne Pitman said the district is maximizing existing space by renting rooms from nearby recreation centres and applying for more new schools.

Modulars are "not a long-term solution," Pitman said, but a proactive way to proceed while the board awaits new school construction. The CBE has 25 new schools, replacements, or additions currently in planning or construction. Trustee Cynthia Cordova questioned why modular classrooms remain the district's priority as a short-term fix to what is plainly a long-term structural problem.