Currently, there is a significant imbalance between the youth population designated to Salisbury Composite High and Bev Facey Community High. Four junior high schools feed into Salisbury Composite High—Clover Bar Junior High, Fultonvale Elementary Junior High, Lakeland Ridge and Sherwood Heights Junior High. In contrast, only two junior high schools feed into Bev Facey Community High—F.R. Haythorne Junior High and Fultonvale Elementary Junior High. To put this in perspective, in 2022,

there were 12,100 youth, ages 1-17, residing within Salisbury’s attendance boundary, and 4,930 residing within the Bev Facey attendance boundary. Similarly, in 2022, there were fewer births within the Bev Facey attendance boundary, 167, than within the Salisbury attendance boundary, 501. Meaning Bev Facey will continue struggling with a low utilization rate if its attendance boundary isn’t adjusted.

In fall 2020, EIPS hosted a Sherwood Park value scoping session. At the session, Salisbury’s low utilization rate was identified as an area that needs attention if the Division is to receive provincial funding approval for new infrastructure. To address this, the Division relocated its Next Step Sherwood Park outreach program to the Salisbury Composite High building in fall 2021. The move allows EIPS to exempt the outreach space from Salisbury’s overall instructional area. In fact, in 2022-23, EIPS completed an instructional-area review of the school, which indicated Salisbury’s net capacity is now 1,800 students—down from 1,978 in 2020-21. As a result, Salisbury’s utilization rate increased significantly, up to 82 per cent from 62 per cent in 2020-21.

Comparatively, EIPS also completed an instructional-area review for Bev Facey Community High. Its overall net capacity is 1,618 students—that too is down from 1,649 in 2020-21. However, unlike Salisbury, Bev Facey’s utilization rate is down to 67 per cent, from 69 per cent in 2020-21. Alberta Education considers a school fully utilized when 100 per cent of the instructional area is being used. However, additional infrastructure may be considered when a school reaches a utilization rate of 85 per cent and there is no available space in nearby facilities.

As part of the French Immersion Review, the Division also determined the best way to balance senior high enrolment in Sherwood Park was by expanding Bev Facey Community High’s attendance. Specifically, redesignating senior high students residing in Lakeland Ridge’s junior attendance area to Bev Facey for grades 10 to 12—effective when the Sherwood Park replacement school opens.

Developing a solution to balance the senior high enrolment within Sherwood Park is inherently interconnected with the French Immersion solution. So, in developing a solution, administration took a system-wide approach. It revisited stakeholder feedback from the French Immersion engagement and the Sherwood Park value scoping session. It also explored all available background information, trends, facts and figures. It considered the culture and history of both senior high schools in Sherwood Park. It conducted detailed enrolment projections, reassessed attendance boundaries and reviewed available infrastructure. It also conducted working-group meetings with principals and staff. Through this collective effort, administration has developed a solution that it believes is the best solution to right-size both Sherwood Park senior high schools.