The province has approved over $12 million in funding for two new elementary schools in the village of Rockwood that together will accommodate about 560 students.
On Jan. 16 the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) announced it has received Ministry of Education approval to build a new $6.1-million public school at the end of MacLellan Street, just outside of the current urban boundary of Rockwood.
The next day, the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) announced it will be building a new $6-million Catholic school somewhere within the village’s urban boundary (officials were not yet prepared to say where, as property details were still being negotiated).
“I’m pleased that the students in Rockwood will benefit from our investments to provide better school buildings,” said Guelph MPP Liz Sandals, who also announced the new projects in a press release issued by the Liberal government.
“We know that when students are in good learning environments, they can focus on their learning.”
Guelph-Eramosa Mayor Chris White welcomed the News of two new Rockwood schools at a council meeting on Jan. 21.
“This is great News for our community,” White said, adding officials from both school boards have worked for some time to bring new facilities to the village.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott was also pleased with both announcements, though he questioned timing of the government’s announcement last week that it would spend $711 million across Ontario on 39 new schools and 48 additions or retrofits.
“Our community is thankful for these schools and both are certainly needed,” Arnott said in a press release.
“However, I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that the government has announced the construction of dozens of new schools across the province at a time when the education system is in turmoil. It’s clearly a strategy to shift attention away from the problems that they’ve created.”
New Rockwood
public school
Students, parents, educators and politicians have complained for years about the overcrowding at Rockwood Centennial Public School, which was built to accommodate about 450 students but currently has over 700.
Since overcrowding was expected to get worse with the implementation of full-day kindergarten, the board previously had planned a $2.8-million “early learning centre” in Rockwood that would include a play area and six classrooms for about 150 junior and senior kindergarten students.
But last summer, the board announced it would instead build a brand new school, consisting of 13 classrooms, with a capacity of 308 students and expecting to cost over $6 million.
Such large scale projects require government approval, and last week the ministry announced approval for $6.9-million in funding for the new Rockwood school.
UGDSB spokesperson Maggie McFadzen said the funding comes from ministry capital grants for full-day kindergarten and the board’s remaining new pupil place (NPP) fund.
However, she added the board’s estimate is closer to $6,098,000.
She told the Advertiser the school will be designed based on a repeat of the architectural firm’s (Allen and Sherriff) design for a new school to be built in Orangeville, which will result in “increased efficiencies and reduced costs.”
The site for the new school will be located at the end of MacLellan Street, off Highway 7, just outside of the current urban boundary of the village of Rockwood.
“We would like to get the new school open as close as possible to September 2014,” McFadzen said. “We will get our shovels in the ground just as soon as possible … We want to expedite the process, but we have a number of things we have to do in order to get the new school built.”
She explained the new building will require a boundary review as well as input from a new “user advisory group” that will oversee construction.
The UGDSB is unsure whether the new school will serve junior kindergarten (JK) to Grade 6, or JK to Grade 8. Also to be considered is if it will house the proposed French immersion program in Rockwood.
“This is great News for the community,” Arnott said in a press release of the new public school. “I know that the school board and staff as well as local parents have worked hard to make this vision a reality.”
New Catholic school
Dan Duszczyszyn, the WCDSB’s superintendent of corporate services, says a new Catholic school in Rockwood helps solve two main problems: the obvious need for a school in the village, as well as the overcrowding at a handful of schools in the east end of Guelph.
“We’re really happy to be able to do that,” Duszczyszyn said, later adding the people living in and around Rockwood have already expressed their approval of the project.
“This is a really positive thing for everyone involved.”
Duszczyszyn said the new school will accommodate 250 students and will open “at the latest” by September 2015, though the goal is to complete the project sooner if possible.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $5,982,208 – of which $400,000 is earmarked for full-day junior and senior kindergarten.
WCDSB director Don Drone said in a press release the announcement “has been the culmination of a series of discussions at the board table and with parent delegations. We are delighted that the Rockwood and area community will now have this facility.”
Duszczyszyn said a Rockwood school has been “back and forth in planning stages” for over 25 years.
In the 1980s the WCDSB provided a portable facility in Rockwood with the intent to start a Catholic elementary school at that time. Unfortunately, due to funding challenges, a school was never established.
But in the last couple of years, the board was able to put together a business case for a school in Rockwood that was well received by the government, explained Duszczyszyn.
A board press release stated factors that contributed to the business plan include:
– development of the Rockwood community;
– an increase in the number of Catholic students currently bused from Rockwood to St. Patrick School in Guelph; and
– population growth in east Guelph.
In a press release Arnott commended WCDSB officials for their dedication over the years.
“I want to congratulate the Wellington Catholic School Board and staff, as well as all the parents and community volunteers who have put so much effort into bringing a Catholic school to Rockwood,” said Arnott.
“This has been a long time coming.”
