Town council has expressed concern over the lack of public consultation on a proposed Francophone secondary school site and agreed to hold a public hearing before deciding whether to provide a letter of support for transferring the land to FrancoSud if provincial funding is secured.
Councillors said they were inundated with letters, both in favour and in opposition to the project, ahead of last night’s council meeting. The gallery was packed for the presentation.
Coun. Marni Fedeyko said she met with about 25 West Valley residents who were upset over the lack of public consultation, despite the project being discussed for nearly two years.
“I want to make it very clear — I’m not against FrancoSud having a school there,” she said. “What I’m against is how the process has happened in the background. Administration has been in discussion about this project for two-plus years. From what I understand, Rocky View Schools has been part of it, Calgary Catholic has been part of it.
“The people who haven’t been part of it, number one, are council and number two are the community. I have a really big problem with both of those groups not being asked ahead of a proposal coming forward. It’s kind of been rah-rah, cheered on, without actually having the biggest discussion with the stakeholders it affects — and that’s the people in that area.”
She said some of her concerns include safety, emergency services, parking, and traffic.
Town councillors were already made aware of the proposed Francophone high school development at a Jan. 6, 2025 committee-of-the-whole meeting attended by all councillors.
It’s estimated it will take about six weeks to prepare for a public hearing. Drew Hydman, the town’s executive director of development and infrastructure, encouraged some engagement between FrancoSud and the affected neighbours beforehand.
“My reading of the submissions that came forward is that people were looking for information,” he said. “If we don’t address that and provide some additional information — or at least provide the opportunity — I feel we’re likely to have people come in and raise the same concerns they have tonight.
“So I think it’s important that we look at that and understand that yes, the public hearing is an important step in the process, but I believe there need to be some additional steps as well.”
The Conseil scolaire Franco (FrancoSud) approached town administration in late 2023, expressing its urgent need to find a site to build a new Grades 7–12 school with a 275-student capacity.
Currently, École Notre-Dame des Vallées at 132 Quigley Dr. is the only FrancoSud school in Cochrane. It was originally built to accommodate up to 240 students in Grades K–8, but currently houses all FrancoSud students in Grades K–12 until another facility is built.
The proposed secondary school would be located adjacent to École Notre-Dame des Vallées, on land already zoned for school use. If secured, the site would be considered shovel-ready, a necessary asset in pursuing provincial funding.
The school now accommodates 210 students, and enrolment is projected to reach or exceed capacity by the 2027–28 school year.
A 50,000-sq.-ft. building is proposed, with a parking lot for up to 65 vehicles. The location is considered optimal, as the two schools could share existing infrastructure, including bus and parent drop-off areas and field space.
The building would be located near Quigley Dr., allowing space for a junior-sized soccer field (approximately 40 metres by 65 metres) behind the school. The existing full-sized soccer field adjacent to École Notre-Dame des Vallées would not be affected.
Mark Krysinski, the town’s community growth director, said administration has evaluated the proposal.
“Overall, administration viewed the proposal as a positive-value proposition, especially for its educational, recreational and social benefits, and there’s no perceived impact to the community as a whole,” he told council.
Cochrane and Canmore top the district’s rural priorities to secure Alberta government funding. Neither has secured a school site yet, but Cochrane administration believes whichever municipality does so first is likely to become the district’s top priority for development.
In a best-case scenario, if FrancoSud secures provincial funding by this summer, the new school could open as early as September 2029.
Rocky View Schools and the Calgary Catholic School District have been consulted on the proposal and have provided their support.
If the development permit process is not met, the town would retain control of the land and take it back.
