The Thames Valley District School Board is submitting several new building projects to the province which are needed to support the growing student population in the London-area.
The school board said it is requesting the Ontario government support the construction of three new schools and additions at two other schools under the 2022-23 Capital Priorities Grant program.
“Thames Valley is experiencing significant enrolment growth, and we expect this trend to continue in the coming years as more families move into our district,” said Associate Director of Education Jeff Pratt. “We want to relieve enrolment pressure on some of our most populated schools and ensure that every student is learning in the best education setting the school board can provide.”
The board said additions to Wilberforce Public School in Lucan and the newly built Summerside Public School in southeast London take first priority, while new school locations in Byron, northeast London, and Ingersoll are also needed.
Construction of new schools are needed to address rapid growth and redistribute enrolment evenly across Thames Valley schools. The board said the additions are also needed to offer modernized learning environments.
Last fall, the province announced a $600-million investment to support nearly 80 school and child care building projects across Ontario for the 2021-22 school year. As a result, the Ministry of Education approved funding for several projects within the TVDSB.
The Ministry launched the 2022-23 round of Capital Priorities Program earlier this month, giving school boards the opportunity to identify and address urgent accommodation needs. A maximum of five business cases can be submitted to the province during this round of submissions, two of which must be new projects.
All requests must be submitted to the province by February 25.
