The Foothills School Division (FSD) signed on the dotted line in an agreement with the Province for a P3 school in Okotoks’ Westmount subdivision and construction on the school could start as soon as April.

The public school division signed a 15-page document in February outlining its responsibilities for the school, which will be Okotoks’ first public-private school.

FSD secretary-treasurer Drew Chipman said one main difference with this school is the company building it will be responsible for maintenance for 30 years.

The school division will hire and pay for the school’s custodians, but will not pay for big ticket maintenance costs, such as repairing or replacing the roof or the school’s heating system.

Chipman said the school division is allotted its operations and maintenance budget based on the number of students and the square footage of each school. As a result, the division will not receive infrastructure maintenance and renewal funding for the school from the Province. Chipman said the maintenance fees for new schools are minimal in the first few years anyway and after that the school will have to be maintained as components reach the end of their lifespan. The school division will take over maintenance of the school after 30 years.

The school division will also pay for the insurance on the school. The Province has the final say on long-term leases, such as daycares or other private businesses that would like to use the school. They also determined the design of the school, based on four models that are being used for all new school construction.

Chipman said the division had its lawyers review the agreement and added it is the same document signed by Calgary and Edmonton school boards that have P3s being built.

Construction on 18 P3 schools in Calgary and Edmonton, that were part of the first phase of such schools announced in 2007, are nearing completion and are expected to open to students this September.

Chipman and other FSD officials toured one of Calgary’s P3 schools recentl and were pleased with what they witenessed.

The Province has closed tenders on 10 P3 schools and four traditionally-funded high schools slated to be built in the second phase of their plan.

Besides Okotoks, schools will be built in Calgary, Edmonton, Langdon, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park.

The Okotoks school will have a capacity of 700 Kindergarten to Grade 9 students. It will be similar in size to Okotoks Junior High School.

Some parents and community members have expressed concerns over how the traffic from the school will be handled and have said the playground space may be insufficient.

Tim Chamberlin, an Alberta Education spokesperson, said they are just waiting for approval from the Treasury Board and hope to have a contract signed with a company by April 1.

In the meantime, the school division has created a committee that is looking at where the attendance boundaries will lie when the new school opens in 2012. A number of scenarios will be unveiled to the public next month for comment.

A name for the school will be determined through a contest.

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