The new Beavercrest School in Markdale is getting closer to beginning construction.
According to Bluewater District School Board, Land Priorities funding has been approved by the ministry of education that will allow the board to purchase more land that surrounds the current property.
The board has already received $6.4 million to build the school with an additional $2.1 million to create two childcare spaces and two EarlyON spaces on the property.
Superintendent of Business Services for BWDSB Rob Cummings says that the build will hopefully be completed within two years.
He says that this funding will help bring the new Beavercrest into a position that will better serve the community.
“The existing Beavercrest School serves it's students well but has served them for a very long period,” Cummings says. “It is in really strong need of some upgrades and modernization.
The plan right now is for the school to downsize to a student capacity of 236 pupils ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 8.
Cummings says that schools built now are built with growth in mind so there will be an option for expansion in the future.
Further meetings with the architects still need to happen to lock down official construction times, with an updated timeline being announced as it develops.