Premier Danielle Smith revealed provincial funding for Brooks Junior High School on Friday. (Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Brooks Junior High School receives provincial funding for replacement building

Apr 5, 2024 | 4:40 PM

Brooks Junior High School will get a new building after 70 years spent at its current location through funding provided in the 2024 budget.

Premier and Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Danielle Smith was joined by officials Friday as she revealed her government’s financial support for the school upgrade, one of 98 that qualified for cash in this year’s Alberta budget.

The upgrade — considered one of the province’s 43 priority school capital projects — will be located at the same site and will replace the current junior high school, which was originally built in 1953.

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The doors on the new building are expected to open for the 2027-2028 school year and, when fully built, will accomodate an additional 157 students.

“Brooks is growing, and that includes our student population,” Smith said.

“Brooks Junior High is the school at the top of the priority list for the Grasslands School Division, so this is welcome news not only for the school board, but also for staff, students and their families.”

Education minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the support for Brooks Junior High shows the United Conservative government is prioritizing education.

“This is a clear demonstration that the government is ready, willing and able to modernize and update and build new schools in every community in the province,” Nicolaides told CHAT News.

“We have significant demand in our largest metro areas but we recognize older schools such as this one need to be replaced and modernized and we’re committed to doing that.”

Officials could not disclose the exact amount of cash it will cost to construct the new building and tear down the current one due to the confidential developer bidding process.

However, school principal Jaret Hofer said it would cost over $40 milllion, with the final price tag close to $50 million.

The new building was designed with funding from the province’s 2023 budget and the focus has remained on benefitting the students during the entire process, Hofer said.

“We’re all on one level, the school is designed with a central heart and then a wing for each grade, a central gathering space, when you look at well-being, there’s so many windows and gathering spaces,” Hofer told CHAT News.

“This building is totally designed with our students at mind first, and that’s core to everything we’re doing here.”