The timeline is still up in the air, but it appears Alcona is slated to get a new public elementary school.
A new facility is listed as the third of 13 capital priorities approved earlier this fall by Simcoe County District School Board trustees. The board acquired a stretch of land on the south side of Innisfil Beach Road, beside the Sobeys grocery store, for the school in October.
“Preliminary geo-technical testing was completed as part of our due diligence when purchasing the property,” business and facility services superintendent Corry Van Nispen said during a board committee meeting held in late September. “The site will accommodate a repeat of (nearby) Lake Simcoe (Public School) ... with the addition we’re currently building onto (that) location. We’re confident in presenting a reasonable and timely schedule.”
Also listed are two new elementary facilities for south-end Barrie — one on Dean Avenue, the other on the north side of Lockhart Drive in the section of the city formerly known as the Hewitt’s secondary plan area — as well as new schools in Angus, Tottenham and Stayner.
There is a new high school scheduled for Wasaga Beach, too, along with expansions for existing facilities like Nantyr Shores Secondary School in Innisfil, and Ardagh Bluffs, Baxter Central, Emma King and Nottawa elementary schools.
In the case of Nantyr, board staff have already contacted an architect in preparation for the addition.
“This has been a big task,” Van Nispen said.
There are also plans in the works to replace the current Warnica Public School structure in Barrie with a larger building.
The list is considered to be of the “utmost importance” and it was generated after boards across Ontario received a memo from the provincial government in mid-August, requesting they submit capital priorities by Oct. 20, Van Nispen said.
“As exciting as all of this is, it doesn’t mean we’re getting these projects,” board chair Jodi Lloyd said. “These are our wish list. The last time we did this, we were asked for five projects. We got none. Every board in the province is doing the exact same thing we are. We’re competing against every board ... for limited capital funding.”
The government has indicated priority will be given to projects best positioned to be completed in a timely manner, and while there is no set limit on the number of items a board can propose, submissions are required to include locations that are already planned or acquired, designs with cost estimates, and a clear schedule with milestones that give a path to completion.
Projects must also recognize intensification in high-density urban areas, and explore innovative building methods.
“There’s two notable high-needs schools that are not here: the Alliston elementary and the new Bradford secondary school,” New Tecumseth trustee Sarah Beitz said. “I love that these are all ready. This is amazing that they’re ready to go. This will solve so many problems. But how many very urgent schools have not been put on the list?”
Given the short turnaround time for compiling the list, the board’s submissions largely focus on accommodation pressures, facility conditions and how close to “shovel-ready” they are, Van Nispen said.
“The more elements that are complete, the greater consideration they will be given,” he said. “We are not saying there isn’t a need (elsewhere). These 13, we have the business cases that check the boxes.”
