About $28 million in funding has been announced for a new school in Dundalk.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce were in Dundalk today for the announced funding from the provincial government for the project Friday morning.
The Ministry of Education will be funding the construction of a new Kindergarten to Grade 8 school in Dundalk in the Glenelg Phase 3 Subdivision. Two existing schools, Highpoint Community School and Proton Community School will remain open. They are currently operating at 136 per cent and 146 per cent capacity respectively. The new school will bring the number of student spaces in Dundalk up to 1,322.
Byers says, “Southgate has been experiencing really significant growth over the last number of years, and in fact, the existing schools have been really bursting, and so it’s very exciting to have this announcement.
He adds, “The 28 million dollar investment in the community through Bluewater School Board 735 student spaces and 54 licenced childcare spaces.”
As for a construction timeline, Byers says in 2023, the government came up with a new, accelerated construction process to get more schools built faster. School boards have been encouraged to standardize the design of new schools and bring forward shovel ready proposals.
The goal is to have the school built by fall of 2027.
“The existing schools are absolutely full,” says Byers adding, “I really appreciated the input from the school board and from Southgate council and through the process here to identify how full the existing schools are and I was able to talk to the minister about that and advocate on behalf of the community.”
A release from Byers’ office says it’s part of a $1.3 billion plan to create more than 27,000 new student spaces and 1,700 childcare spaces across the province.
Southgate Mayor Brian Milne says in a statement, “As the community of Dundalk continues to grow, our community services and infrastructure need to develop to meet the demands of the community, so that all residents can enjoy a great quality of life in our thriving rural communities.”