As one of 23 charter schools in Alberta, CGCS operates with its own board of directors, and is accountable directly to the Minister of Education.

With public funding comes the obligation to accept any female student that it is able to accommodate, without charging tuition.

Like any public Alberta school, it is allowed to charge fees, but they are not tied to the right of admission.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and its main union are generally opposed to the idea of charter schools.

Organizers of the CGCS initially (as required by law) applied to get the same school run under the authority of the CBE.