Background

There are many partners involved in selecting a school site, developing plans and building a new school in Calgary. School boards, the Government of Alberta, The City of Calgary, developers and contractors are all a part of the process.

Here’s an overview of what happens:

  1. At the initial stage of community development, the developer provides land for new schools within their proposed developments, as required by the Municipal Government Act.
  2. School boards and The City select from the offered sites for potential future schools.
  3. School boards submit their priorities for new schools annually to the Government of Alberta.
  4. The Government of Alberta approves and allocates funding for schools, as the annual provincial budget allows.
  5. School boards submit development permit application to The City.
  6. The City consults with the community through the development permit process.
  7. The City approves the development.
  8. School boards submit building permit application to The City.
  9. The City inspects for safety throughout the building process.
  10. The City approves the building permit.
  11. The City approves the building occupancy.
  12. The school opens.

*Some school projects in Calgary are managed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the school board. In these cases, the Government of Alberta, rather than the school board, is involved in steps five through eight.

The City’s role in new schools from 2015-2017

With a record number of schools being planned and built, there was a need for increased collaboration between all partners.

Through the development permit process, The City assigned a dedicated team to handle applications and cut the decision timeline from eight to nine months down to approximately two to three months.

After the development was approved and construction began, The City created a team of plans examination and field inspection staff to maintain consistency, and created a scheduled system of inspections to proactively identify potential construction delays.

Near the end of construction, The City used a partial occupancy process to allow staff and equipment providers early entry to new schools, to ensure they were ready on schedule.

To view the Government of Alberta’s interactive map of all school projects, visit projects.alberta.ca.​


This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​