New school proposed for Rockwood

The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has altered its full-day kindergarten capital plan to include a new public school in Rockwood.

The June 26 decision still hinges on provincial approvals,  but the decision marks a clear change in direction from the board’s original capital plan for the implementation of full-day kindergarten (FDK).

Last October the board unveiled a $90-million plan, including 53 separate projects, to be completed by September 2014 to accommodate about 2,200 new FDK students.

Part of that plan was a new $2.8-million “early learning centre” in Rockwood that would include a 2,400 square-foot play area and six classrooms for about 150 junior and senior kindergarten students - to open for the 2014-15 school year.

“We don’t really have a case for a new school for Rockwood yet,” Paul Scinocca, the board’s capital projects manager, said at the meeting last fall.

However, board spokesperson Maggie McFadzen told the Advertiser the board approved a new capital plan last week, part of which is the inclusion of a new school in Rockwood that could accommodate up to 300 students.

“We still do not have a site,” McFadzen told the Advertiser.

In addition to $38 million it has already been promised by the province, the UGDSB has requested an additional $37 million in FDK funding, to cover its plan.

However, competition for funding is expected to be fierce across the province.