New Camrose high school ready to go — but no road leads to it

Emma Zhao · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 12, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Construction connected a caller precocious schoolhouse successful the cardinal Alberta metropolis of Camrose has finished good up of its planned September opening, but an unresolved quality has near the gathering without utilities and paved access.

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic High School, designed to service 400 to 600 students successful grades 9-12, is portion of the Elk Island Catholic Schools Division.

The state has spent astir $30 cardinal to physique the schoolhouse successful the metropolis of 20,000, astir 95 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

The gathering is complete, with sidewalks, emblem poles and a parking lot, but it lacks moving water, energy and paved entree roads. 

Davin Wilcox has 2 children who are expected to start at Blessed Carlo Acutis successful the fall, but worries it mightiness not beryllium imaginable for the gathering to unfastened connected schedule.

"This contented is adjacent and beloved to my heart ... I'm a large proponent of Catholic education," Wilcox said. "This truly made maine upset."

In a connection to parents past month, Elk Island Catholic Schools' superintendent Paul Corrigan said helium was "deeply acrophobic that cardinal issues regarding captious municipal infrastructure to work the schoolhouse stay unresolved, which could interaction the school's opening timeline."

Corrigan said an "impasse" betwixt the metropolis and the developer is preventing the schoolhouse territory from taking possession of the building.

Camgill Development Corporation and the City of Camrose person not reached an statement connected who is liable for providing these services for the school.

WATCH | Camrose parents consciousness caught successful the mediate of a caller schoolhouse dispute:

Camrose city assembly held a gathering down closed doors connected Wednesday to sermon the issue.

In a connection to CBC after that meeting, Mayor PJ Stasko said helium authorized different connection to the state and the Elk Island Catholic board of trustees successful hopes that "all parties tin travel to an agreement."

Camgill Development Corporation did not respond to CBC's petition for a statement.

A connection from the bureau of Infrastructure Minister Martin Long said the state can't manus implicit the schoolhouse to Elk Island Catholic to hole it for opening until the metropolis and the developer have reached an agreement.

"Under the Municipal Governance Act, the city owns the utilities and roads moving to the schoolhouse tract and it is their work to fulfil the inferior and roadworthy entree requirements for this project," the connection said.

The state said the remaining enactment tin beryllium completed successful astir 3 months, meaning that if an statement tin beryllium reached, the schoolhouse could unfastened connected docket successful September.

Communication inadequate, genitor says

Wilcox said that portion the schoolhouse was being built, connection from the schoolhouse board, the developers and the metropolis had been affirmative and consistent.

But things started to alteration astatine the extremity of 2024, erstwhile parents started to wonderment wherefore determination were nary paved roads being built, helium said. 

"The carrot has been dangled successful beforehand of you for a twelvemonth … and present things commencement to get quiet, things commencement to get weird," helium said. 

"Why is the schoolhouse not open? Why are the teachers not allowed to spell successful determination and commencement mounting up their classrooms? Why isn't determination an attack to the parking lot?"

The connection from Corrigan doesn't springiness parents capable accusation astir wherever their kids volition spell to schoolhouse successful the fall, helium added.

Many of the students who are expected to commencement astatine the caller precocious schoolhouse successful the autumn are currently at Our Lady of Mount Pleasant, a Camrose schoolhouse for learners successful grades 5-12.

"There's been nary statements, there's been nary advancement reports, there's been nary timeline," Wilcox told CBC's Edmonton AM on Wednesday.

"The model to commencement digging and re-servicing the schoolhouse … each that clip is disappearing."

LISTEN | Parent wonders if schoolhouse volition unfastened connected schedule:

A main and vice-principal person been appointed to the caller school, but unit and teachers person yet to beryllium hired, according to Corrigan. 

Wilcox is acrophobic that by the clip caller teachers are hired, they won't person the resources to hole for what comes next. 

"You're truly jamming up the teachers," helium said. "Teachers can't get into the classrooms, they can't get their worldly ready."