Local enthusiasm for the announcement of two new Rockwood elementary schools was palpable over the past week.
Yet fears of provincial red tape that could jeopardize at least one of the projects have cast somewhat of a cloud on the good News.
Mayor Chris White said on Tuesday he is legitimately concerned the province’s Places to Grow Act, which classifies Wellington County as one municipality, could put a kink into plans for a new public school in Rockwood’s south end.
“We’re wrestling with the internal bureaucracy of the government right now,” said White.
Because the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) project is proposed for a property outside the current village boundary, White said – if past practice is any indication – the province may consider that “urban sprawl,” even though the proposal is for a school and park only.
“We’re not adding a single home, that’s what’s frustrating,” he said.
Other Guelph-Eramosa councillors also expressed similar concerns on Monday night, when council provided preliminary approval to rezone the property and alter the urban boundary.
Township planner Bernie Hermsen, of MHBC Planning, acknowledged the province has previously rejected similar proposals to alter the boundary, but suggested there is “a public need” for the new school.
He also noted the UGDSB tried to find a suitable property within the urban boundary but was unsuccessful.
UGDSB planning manager Jennifer Passy said the school board has to have “shovels in the ground” by this summer if there is any hope of having the school ready by September 2014.
White thanked the board for its efforts and said the new school solves overcrowding at Rockwood Centennial Public School, eliminates a need for busing, addresses safety issues with kids walking along Highway 7, provides economic spin-offs, and keeps kids in the township.
“I would be really disappointed if we had trouble getting a second school that’s desperately needed because of an act that makes no sense in a rural community,” White told the Advertiser.
He hopes to discuss the matter with government officials during the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference Feb. 24 to 27 in Toronto.
He noted it would make no sense for one branch of the government to approve funding for the school and another to deny its construction.
“It’s ludicrous,” White said.
