Wolf Creek Public Schools’ (WCPS) Board of Trustees is making its points known to Alberta’s Education Minister regarding the need for a replacement elementary school in Blackfalds. 

The request to replace Iron Ridge Elementary Campus (IREC) in Blackfalds has been made to the government for the past 20 years, most often as the Number 1 priority on the school board’s capital plan. 

“The original footprint of Iron Ridge Elementary Campus was built in the 1940s, and although it is included in how student occupancy is calculated, that portion is mostly used for storage,” said Luci Henry, WCPS Board chair. 

Henry, along with Wolf Creek superintendent Tim De Ruyck and Blackfalds trustee Darryl Stendie met with Education Minister Adriana Lagrange Sept. 12 to again stress the importance of a replacement elementary school for IREC. The government of Alberta traditionally announces its plans for school builds in the Spring, and Wolf Creek’s Board is hoping that their request can make the list. 

“We fully grasp that demands for replacement and/or additional school construction is very high in various Alberta communities. But we underscored to the Minister that our request for a replacement elementary school has been made for 20 years,” said Henry, adding that a 2018 value scoping of the building and subsequent report clearly recommended a replacement school over a mass renovation. 

Wolf Creek was approved in 2019 for a new high school — Iron Ridge Secondary Campus — which is currently under construction. Wolf Creek is also reviewing its grade configurations for its schools in Blackfalds (Iron Ridge Elementary Campus, Iron Ridge Intermediate Campus, Iron Ridge Junior Campus and Iron Ridge Secondary Campus) but abandoning the existing IREC building is not something the Board will consider. 

“We understand the need to make efficient use of space, but it would be short-sighted (for example) to simply abandon the current use of IREC and redistribute all the students to other schools in the community. If this were to occur, we would have capacity issues at those schools in the not too distant future,” said Tim De Ruyck, WCPS Superintendent. 

“We feel that the best long term solution includes replacing the elementary school which would then best complement the existing schools, as well as the Iron Ridge Secondary Campus.” 

De Ruyck said a replacement school could be built on the current school site, and there would also be a possibility to repurpose a portion of the existing elementary school for community use, creating a benefit to the community. 

“We are hopeful to continue having this conversation with the Education Minister and the community about the need for a replacement school for Iron Ridge Elementary Campus” said Henry. 

“We all agree that Blackfalds will continue to grow and a new modern public elementary school for families in Blackfalds is a need we as a Board will continue to push forward for.”