Surplus school sites
On June 18, 2024, the Board of Trustees declared several school sites surplus to the Division’s needs. This means the schools will potentially change ownership in the next 12 to 24 months.
The following sites have been declared surplus:
- Lawton School site
- Montrose School site
- Mount Royal School site
- Queen Mary Park School site
- R. J. Scott School site
- Rundle School site
None of the sites are currently being used as schools. Students from communities which may have been served by these school sites in the past now attend new or modernized buildings.
What does this mean?
When a school site is declared surplus, the Division no longer has a need for the building. Typically, this decision is made because the cost of operating and maintaining the building outweighs any potential revenue that might be received by renting it out.
Before the Division can sell the site on the open market, certain steps must be taken:
- The Board of Trustees declares sites surplus.
- The Division informs the Government of Alberta.
- The Government of Alberta determines if there is another use for the site.
- If there is, the provincial government may choose to acquire the building.
- If the province does not acquire the site, the Division’s Joint Use Agreement (JUA) partners have the first opportunity to purchase the site. The JUA partners are:
- the City of Edmonton
- Edmonton Catholic Schools
- Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord
- If the Government of Alberta or JUA partners do not acquire the site, it can be listed for sale on the open market, subject to the approval of the Minister of Education.
Why is this happening?
The surplus sites are all older buildings that need significant upkeep and maintenance. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to operate these buildings each year, in addition to significant deferred maintenance costs.
Deferred maintenance is the work that needs to be done to keep a school building in ideal condition, but has not been undertaken because of higher priorities for the limited maintenance and renewal funding available to the Division.
While the buildings remain safe, they are not in ideal condition and it is too expensive to replace major components that have reached the end of their lifespan.
Deferred maintenance cost is the amount of money needed to complete this work.
Annual operating costs are the costs involved in running the building each year and include things like utilities and custodial costs.
Because these buildings are not being used as schools, the Division doesn’t receive any funding from the provincial government to operate or maintain them. Selling the buildings will allow the Division to redirect funds to serve the current needs of students.
