At today's Rocky View Schools Board of Trustees meeting, changes to the ward boundaries were made.
The Trustees were presented with four different options on how the boundaries could be changed, to work with the growing population within the division.
Here is a look at what the current boundaries are:
The population of RVS has grown by around 33 per cent since the last ward boundary review in 2016.
The options that were presented to the trustees included:
- Seven Trustee options combining Ward 2 (Langdon, Indus and Chestermere rural areas) and Ward 4 (Crossfield, Beiseker, Irricana, Kathyrn, and Airdrie rural areas) redistricting 5,600 residents from Ward 6 (Cochrane: Sunset Ridge) into Ward 5 (Bragg Creek, Springbank, Bearspaw, Westbrook and Cochrane rural areas).
- Eight Trustee option adding a Trustee to Ward 6 (Cochrane would now have two Trustees) and combining Ward 2 (Langdon, Indus and Chestermere rural areas) and Ward 4 (Crossfield, Beiseker, Irricana, Kathyrn, and Airdrie rural areas)
- Nine Trustees option adding a trustee to Ward 6 (Cochrane would now have two Trustees), and redistributing 8,600 residents from Ward 3 (Airdrie: North of Veterans Blvd) into Ward 4 (Crossfield, Beiseker, Irricana, Kathyrn, and Airdrie rural areas) and redistributing 5,100 residents from Ward 1 (Chestermere: East side of the lake and East of Range Road 282 on the south end of the lake) into Ward 2 (Langdon, Indus and Chestermere rural areas).
- Seven Trustee option, Ward 1 City of Chestermere (one Trustee), Ward 2 and 4 combined (one Trustee, Ward 3 Airdrie (three Trustees), Ward 5 Rural West (one Trustee), Ward 6 Cochrane (one Trustee).
Option B was presented as the recommended option for the board, and Board Chair Fiona Gilbert put the motion forward to approve the option.
Trustee Lang brought forward a substitute to the above motion that would direct the Board Chair to send a letter to the education minister asking for support to explore the feasibility of forming a separate Airdrie School Division. The majority of the trustees voted against the substituted motion.
After debating the four options, trustees voted 5-3 for option B as the majority of trustees believe it will better represent the student population of today compared to years ago.
The new boundaries will be in effect after the 2025 trustee election.
The Board of Trustees decided to review the boundaries back in 2023. Multiple public meetings were held to hear the public's thoughts on the new ward boundaries before making this decision.
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