St. Joseph Catholic School addition to proceed to tender

FERGUS – The province has announced the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) can proceed with the tender process for a planned addition to St. Joseph Catholic School here.

Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae made the announcement on Nov. 17, about 18 months after $5.2 million in funding for the project was first announced in May of 2022.

The addition will create 190 additional elementary student spaces at the school, which is located on Strathallan Street near Highway 6 in Fergus.

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“This is great news for families in Fergus and Centre Wellington,” stated Rae in the press release.

“Our rural communities deserve high-quality learning spaces and quality education. This investment will ensure families and students have access to exactly that in the years ahead.”

WCDSB Director of Education Michael Glazier stated the board is grateful for the ministry's support, which will help accommodate “significant growth in Catholic schools in Fergus and Wellington County."

“This is a much-needed addition and will be welcomed by families in our community,” he added.

Eight new rooms

At the time the funding was announced last May, WCDSB associate director of corporate services Tracy McLennan told the Advertiser the school was "at 140 per cent capacity."

“And so this really affords us an opportunity to add eight modern learning spaces – classrooms – to the existing site,” she stated at the time.

The eight-classroom addition will include two full-day kindergarten classrooms and six other classrooms.

High school coming?

WCDSB officials have also recently submitted a capital funding request to the province to add Grades 9 to 12 to St. Joseph.

That expansion would include 21 new classrooms for up to 249 additional students.