After more than two years of silence, the Simcoe County District School Board is issuing an urgent plea to the Ministry of Education.
The board hasn’t been asked for a list of its capital priorities since June 2017. In the past, it has typically received that request from the province twice a year.
At this week's board meeting, trustees gave the all-clear for chair Jodi Lloyd to write a letter to the ministry.
Going this long without being asked for capital priorities “is particularly challenging for school boards with growing populations and enrolment such as the SCDSB,” Lloyd wrote in her letter to the minister.
“Simcoe County is experiencing significant residential growth in a number of our municipalities,” she continued. “Overall, the total number of residential units expected to be built over the next 15 years exceeds 91,000 which will generate in excess of 20,500 public elementary and secondary students. The board is already seeing significant impacts of this growth in many of our southern municipalities where residential growth has been substantial and is continuing. It follows that this new growth requires new schools to adequately accommodate students.”
Lloyd told OrilliaMatters many of the board’s elementary schools are at full capacity, while some in the south end of the county, such as Bradford West Gwillimbury, are at 140 per cent capacity.
“This is very challenging for us and we have parents who are really concerned about this,” she said. “So, we felt it was important to bring it to the attention of the ministry.”
Trustees representing the south end “desperately want a call for capital priorities,” Lloyd added, noting it takes about two years to build a school after receiving approval from the ministry.
It isn’t only that part of the county that will need more facilities, though.
“In addition to the Bradford community, we are also seeing substantial residential and enrolment growth in the Township of Essa, Town of Innisfil, Town of New Tecumseth, City of Orillia and City of Barrie,” Lloyd wrote in her letter. “These are the areas where the board of trustees has identified its most high and urgent capital needs and pressures. In total, a demonstrated immediate and short-term need exists that requires eight new elementary capital projects and two secondary capital projects throughout our jurisdiction.”
Lloyd said the board appreciates the province’s efforts to find savings, which included a line-by-line review of the education portfolio. However, she was told by the minister in February that the review had concluded.
“The government’s been in power for a year now and we need to move forward,” she said.
The only change to Lloyd’s letter will be to whom it is addressed. Lisa Thompson was replaced with Stephen Lecce as education minister during Thursday’s cabinet shuffle.
“I hope it doesn’t delay it further,” Lloyd said. “You can’t just stop the planning and building of new schools, particularly in an area that is experiencing significant growth. There’s an urgency in Simcoe County.”
OrilliaMatters asked the Ministry of Education why it had not asked for capital priorities yet and when boards could expect to receive that request. A spokesperson replied, “The government is taking the necessary time to determine next steps and will have more to say in the coming months.”
