Public board proposes $60M plan to eliminate 900 empty spaces
The public school board wants to close five elementary schools and build four new ones in the Forest Glade and Leamington areas.
The board administration plan would eliminate about 900 empty student spaces.
Currently, the Greater Essex County District School Board has a little more than 6,000 empty spaces.
The new schools would cost about $15 million each.
“The areas we are looking at have a number of empty spaces, but they also have high renewal costs,” said superintendent of education Todd Awender, who oversees the board’s accommodation review process.
“I believe overall, both communities are happy to get some new schools with 21st learning environments and more opportunities for students and staff in larger schools.”
Trustees will vote on the plans June 8.
In Forest Glade, the recommendations call for the consolidation of Parkview and Eastwood elementary schools in a new build located centrally between the existing buildings. The current schools would be closed.
Forest Glade Public School, which houses grades 3 to 8, and the school’s Primary Learning Centre, which houses JK to Grade 2 students, would be consolidated in a new JK to Grade 8 school to be built on the current Forest Glade site.
The Primary Learning Centre and old Forest Glade would be deemed surplus.
The consolidations would result in two new schools with about 520 students each.
“Parents were happy at the idea of two new schools essentially in the same communities as they are now,” Awender said.
“Parents also liked the idea that the new builds would not have the same design (open concept) as the schools are now.”
The consolidations would eliminate 500 empty spaces in the Forest Glade area.
The Leamington consolidations would see Margaret D. Bennie and Gore Hill schools combined in a new build on the current Bennie site.
Mill Street Public School will be closed and its population shared between Queen Elizabeth and Mount Carmel-Blytheswood schools.
A new school would be built on the current Queen Elizabeth site as a first preference. If not, the board will also submit a $2-million proposal to expand the current Queen Elizabeth building.
The two new build schools would have populations of 520 apiece while Mount Carmel-Blytheswood would pick up about 100 Mill Street students to grow to 351 pupils.
The plan would result in the elimination of 400 empty spaces.
“In Leamington, it was felt six elementary schools was just too many to serve that population,” said Awender, noting the five schools involved in the review housed about 1,400 students.
“We had a bunch of schools between 200 and 300 students. The parents agreed a reduction to four schools, with two new ones, was reasonable.”
Awender said the community groups expressed excitement that two more new schools could help revitalize the town with the new high school nearing completion.
In both accommodation reviews, there will be accompanying boundary changes, but transportation costs should decrease. Costs are expected to be status quo in the Forest Glade area. The Leamington plan would require two fewer school buses while seeing an increase in walkers.
If trustees approve the plans, Awender said they’ll be submitted to the Ministry of Education in June with an answer expected back in early fall.
“If everything were to go smoothly, students could be moving into their new schools as soon as the fall of 2019,” Awender said.
The board already has the funding for building five more new schools.
That doesn’t include the new Leamington high school scheduled to open this fall.