The Simcoe County District School Board has approved a list of capital projects to submit to the Ministry of Education, including a new growth school at the site of the former Byng Public School in Stayner.
The school board has submitted a list of 13 capital priorities that meet the Ministry of Education’s new guidelines for shovel-ready developments, meaning that the projects have a set timeline, completed design, and available land.
The Byng Public School site, located on William Street in Stayner, has been identified as number 10 on the list.
At a Sept. 27 business and facilities standing committee meeting, superintendent of business and facility services Corry Van Nispen outlined the development plan for a new two-storey building with an on-the-ground ministry rated capacity of 380-420.
At number 11 on the list is an addition for Nottawa Elementary School that would accommodate 144 students.
New elementary schools in Angus, Barrie, and Alcona top the list, while a new Wasaga Beach high school is at number 12.
The submission is in response to a call from the minister’s office for priority capital projects based on the new criteria. This is the first call for submissions under the new shovel-ready approach. The call was issued in August, with a submission deadline of Oct. 20.
Trustee Jodi Lloyd said the prospect of building schools is exciting but cautioned fellow members of the board, saying the most urgent projects are not always the ones that are funded.
“We finally have a call for priorities and it’s great but we could get one, we could get two,” she said. “We could get more but we are competing against every board in the province for the limited amount of funding that’s available.”
Van Nispen acknowledged that the accommodation needs within the school board catchment area are greater than what is represented on the list, but the 13 identified projects are the ones that meet the new criteria.
He told trustees that the school board would be assessed on meeting established timelines and a failure to do so could affect its ability to get approvals in the future.
Byng Public School closed in June 2020 following an accommodation review that resulted in Stayner Collegiate Institute becoming a Grade 7-12 school and all K-6 students going to Clearview Meadows. The school, constructed in 1922, was in need of millions of dollars in structural repairs and accessibility accommodations.