Rocky Ridge parents rally for middle school

Dozens of northwest Calgary parents rallied in the cold on Family Day for a new middle school.

Rocky Ridge parents aired their concerns at the Rocky Ridge Ranch at an event dubbed "Last Chance Middle School Rally." The parents are upset the public school board has pushed their community down the priority list from second to seventh spot for a new school.

"I have friends, their daughters, they have to catch the bus at seven in the morning in order to get to school," said parent Nasim Vadit.

Approximately 620 middle school-aged children in Rocky Ridge are bussed out of the community. But Rocky Ridge is not showing growth and that's one of the key criteria for staying high on the list for new schools.

Trustee Joy Bowen-Eyre said the board is facing growing demand from 24 communities that don't have any schools and the province hasn't announced plans for any new schools in the city since 2008.

The school board will announce a new way of setting that priority list, but there are no promises about a new school for Rocky Ridge, she said.

MLA Sandra Janzen said the province remains committed to building infrastructure where it's needed, but says there's no plans for Rocky Ridge at this time. Meanwhile, Janzen adds it wouldn't cost the school board a dime to move the community back near the top of the list.