Prairie Rose enrolment up by 139 despite anticipating a decrease

Posted on October 22, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Enrolment is up at Prairie Rose Public Schools, with signs pointing to a full and busy 2026-2027 school year.

Early projections for the year estimated enrolment would be down roughly 18 students compared to the previous year, says chief financial officer Ryan Boser.

However, as of Sept. 29, the cutoff date for enrolment as it applies to funding purposes, the division is actually sporting over 150 more students from the projected numbers, at a total of 139 students more than the actual enrolment numbers from the 2025-2026 school year.

These numbers will help to determine the amount of funding the division receives for the year. Under the current model, 70 per cent of funding is determined by enrolment numbers for the present year, where 30 per cent is based on the previous year’s numbers.

“We also have an additional number of students, between 800 and 1,000 students, that take non-primary courses through Prairie Rose,” said Boser. “That’ll be students that are registered elsewhere in Alberta, but they’re still taking courses through PRPS.”

He says he anticipates the number of students taking these courses will continue to grow in the future.