The Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) Board has declined to pay an improvement levy to Yellowhead County and will continue advocating to the provincial government about the situation.
In May 2025, Yellowhead County issued GYPSD an improvement levy of $737,935.36 for upgrades stemming from the 45 and 46 Avenue Water and Sanitary Sewer Local Improvement Project in Evansburg. The county explains that deep utility (water and wastewater) improvements such as these are cost-shared between Yellowhead County and the benefitting landowners.
The county provided two payment options to the division:
- Pay in full by April 1, 2026, for a total of $737,935.36.
- Pay the levy over 25 years, with interest. The applicable interest would be determined on the day the payment agreement is signed.
In September 2025, the GYPSD Board of Trustees wrote to the Minister of Education to express concerns about the request and its broader implications. In October, GYPSD administration surveyed other school divisions in the province for similar situations and found this large a levy to be an outlier.
Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams agrees that this is likely a new situation, but one that communities may see more of in the near future.
“A lot of the hamlets and municipalities haven’t gotten to the stage where they have to upgrade the sewer and water past a bunch of these schools,” he commented. “I think it’s going to be much more of a red flag coming forward than it is now. We are probably one of the first to get to this situation and start levying these.”
Williams also stated that the county is following the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which does not exclude school divisions from improvement levies.
“If the province wants to exclude school divisions, they could have done that and still could do that with the revisement [sic] of the MGA, but as of right now, it’s not in here, so we’re just following process,” he says.
He also acknowledged the price tag on the project, a total of $1,877,284.75 before cost-sharing, which he says is likely double what was expected when the project was proposed in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent fires and floods reportedly halted the work multiple times.
According to the division’s agenda, as of Aug. 31, 2025, GYPSD had $1.9 million in operating reserves and an operating budget of $70 million. The division says this reserve supports special projects and acts as its emergency fund. The division is also required to keep at least $700,000 in this reserve at all times.
At the same point in time, the division had $6.2 million capital reserves, which are restricted to major purchases like vehicle and equipment replacements, or major infrastructure and school land improvements. Use of these funds for anything other than school capital projects requires ministerial approval, the division says.
On Jan. 14, the GYPSD board voted to continue advocating to the provincial government for an exemption, relief or resolution, rather than pay the levy. Board Chair Melodie Bobilek shared concerns about using educational tax dollars on municipal infrastructure upgrades and requested that administration arrange a meeting with Yellowhead County council for further discussion.
While this could strain relations with Yellowhead County, the division says the decision preserves its reserves and maintains financial flexibility to support education priorities or unforeseen events. As the division has schools in five municipalities, it also avoids setting a precedent that could result in similar levies from other communities, creating a high-risk financial situation for the division.
Mayor Williams says he understands the division board is doing what it feels is right, and the county will determine what action to take as the situation progresses.
“I strongly feel that they should advocate to the Government of Alberta, because I feel this is a situation where the province needs to step up and realize these things are going to be happening, and it’s a huge expense,” he says.
Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides has commented on the situation, stating that school jurisdictions are responsible for covering local improvements to their schools through their allocated budgets.
“I recognize that this situation places the school board in a difficult position,” he says. “I encourage the Grande Yellowhead School Division to continue engaging with Yellowhead County to explore alternative solutions that may help mitigate the financial impact.”
