The City of Beaumont, the Black Gold School Division (BGSD), and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School Division (STAR Catholic) have been working together to identify a joint school site that can meet the needs of both school boards.
Beaumont City Council is committing municipal-owned land immediately south of the West Recreation Site on Township Road 505 for the school and will fund construction of services to the site, including utilities.
“Families keep choosing Beaumont as a community of choice and Council appreciates the pressing need this population growth is creating for high school space. We are pleased to confirm our plan to have a suitable shovel-ready site in the Elan neighbourhood and are working diligently to provide servicing by spring of 2025,” said Beaumont Mayor Bill Daneluik. “Securing a site for the high school is a critical step in our ongoing commitment with our partners to provide the best outcomes for students and the community as a whole now and well into the future.”
“The Black Gold Board of Trustees is delighted with this announcement and the letter of commitment received from the City of Beaumont,” said BGSD Board Chair Esther Eckert. “Educating students in a rapidly growing community poses significant challenges, as we are outgrowing school and classroom spaces quickly. We are grateful to the City of Beaumont and STAR Catholic for their determination in working with us to secure a suitable site for our schools, and we hope the Province will soon allocate the funding necessary to advance this important project.”
“This wonderful news is a testament to the strong working partnerships that exist between STAR Catholic School Division, Black Gold School Division, and the City of Beaumont,” said STAR Catholic Board Chair Henry Effon. “This community is a thriving one, and our Board of Trustees has strived to demonstrate our commitment to providing Catholic education at the high school level to our Beaumont families. With this letter of commitment, we are one step closer to realizing this goal, and we are incredibly grateful to our partners for helping make this a reality.”
School design and construction is pending confirmation of funding from the Alberta government. The City of Beaumont and school divisions anticipate that design work could take place concurrently with servicing to allow school construction to begin in spring 2025.