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There’s no end in sight to a population boom in the London-area that has strained the housing and rental markets and challenged local school boards, both now racing to build new schools. New projections show London and surrounding Middlesex County will add the equivalent to a city the size of Windsor in population growth during the next 25 years. LFP’s Heather Rivers examines how school officials will try to keep up
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THE BIG PICTURE
The Thames Valley District school board, the biggest in Southwestern Ontario with 84,000 students, says it will be working with municipal partners to make sure it keeps up with growth predictions. The board has seven new schools and a major addition “in various stages of construction and design” across Middlesex, Oxford, and Elgin counties plus London, says Ben Puzanov, its manager of planning. But Thames Valley needs 12 more new schools and six expansions, he said.
Puzanov said the board’s biggest challenge is “making sure we have access to provincial capital monies to keep building schools.”
The London District Catholic school board, Ontario’s fastest-growing Catholic school board, gained more than 1,500 students this year for a total of 27,500 students at 54 schools. In an recent interview, Gabe Pizzuti, chair of the board of trustees, said the board is about to embark on the biggest building boom in its history.
But board spokesperson Mark Adkinson said they’re unable to comment more until the spring, because they have a number of projects they “can’t speak about publicly at this time.”
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LONDON, MIDDLESEX COUNTY
Thames Valley will need eight new schools, including one high school, and four additions during the next five to seven years, Puzanov said. Beyond that, he said, the board will need many more schools to accommodate all the new families they expect will be coming to the region.
ELGIN COUNTY
Two new schools, including a high school, are under construction but the need will increase substantially due to the opening of the new Volkswagen battery plant in St. Thomas in 2027, expected to employ some 3,000 people – enough to spark an influx of new residents. A number of housing developments are expected to accompany it.
“We know we will need more than just those two schools,” Puzanov said.
OXFORD COUNTY
A north Woodstock elementary school named Turtle Island is under construction and expected to open for the 2025-26 school year. A new school is needed in both Thamesford and Ingersoll, as well as two expansions in existing schools.
“We know that list will expand looking at the next 25 years. We know there will be additional capital that is required,” Puzanov said.
hrivers@postmedia.com
@HeatheratLFP
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