School funding squeeze as Alberta rushes to build

Alberta's ambitious school-building program is creating a pinch in Calgary's wallet. The province has 45 active school projects underway across the city to keep pace with rapid population growth, but the pace is straining the city's joint reserve fund — the rainy day account used to acquire land for future schools.

The reserve is now projected to be overdrawn by 2029, a shortfall that has city council worried about who pays when the province's timeline outpaces funding. Ward 2 Councillor Jennifer Wyness said the province's growth targets aren't matched by cash: "The funding models for that explosion of population hasn't followed the demand."

The pressure is mounting elsewhere too. Last year, Alberta increased the student populations it expects in new schools. One northeast Calgary high school originally designed for 1,800 students now needs to accommodate 2,400. That means the city must fund upgrades to streets, traffic signals and walkways — expenses the province hasn't committed to covering.

Ward 5 Councillor Raj Dhaliwal pushed back: "Extra upgrades aren't something that we create, it's created by the decisions made by Alberta Infrastructure. They should be coming forward with extra funds and not expecting Calgarians, taxpayers to fund it." The province and city are still negotiating who covers the bill.