A Wasaga Beach elementary school addition made the cut of the Catholic school board’s next priorities.
During the May 19 Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board meeting, trustees were presented with the ranked capital priorities list that will be presented to the province ahead of the May 21 deadline to submit.
“The list of priorities addresses high and urgent needs as well as future growth requirements within the jurisdiction of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board,” noted Allen Morrison, controller of planning and facilities in his report to trustees. “With the large amount of residential growth occurring in the southern portion of the board, the majority of the proposed projects are supporting the resulting student accommodation needs in these areas.”
The capital projects approved by the Catholic board, ranked, are as follows:
- New elementary school Innisfil (accommodation pressure)
- New elementary school Bradford (accommodation pressure)
- Replacement of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Midland (facility condition)
- New elementary school New Tecumseth (accommodation pressure)
- Addition to St. Noel Chabanel in Wasaga Beach (accommodation pressure)
- New elementary school Essa/Clearview (accommodation pressure)
- Addition to Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Bradford (accommodation pressure)
- New elementary school South Barrie (accommodation pressure)
All of the proposed capital projects have been included in previous submissions to the province.
The board’s top priority is a new elementary school in Innisfil. The board was already approved in 2019 for funding for the project for the construction of a 401-pupil school with a three-room child care centre. The 2021 Capital Priority submission will propose to increase the capacity from 401 to 493 pupis to accommodate future growth.
After reviewing future enrolment projections for Bradford West Gwillimbury, staff opted to also include an addition to Holy Trinity Catholic High School as No. 7 on the list. The existing capacity of the school is 702 students, however future enrolment is expected to hit 1,000 pupils within 10 years.
One item that had been included in previous years but has fallen off the list is an addition to Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School in Orillia to accommodate a third gym. According to the report, future enrolment is anticipated to remain under 800 students, and a third gym will only be needed if enrolment exceeds 1,000 students.
Now that trustees have approved the ranked list, board staff will prepare business cases for each project to present to the province. The province will make its own determination of which schools receive funding, based on business cases as well as other factors.
The province has said $550 million will be up for grabs province-wide through this round of capital priority funding. It is anticipated the province will announce which schools will be funded in August or September.
