Township supports location for Mennonite school

MAPLETON – A new location for a proposed Mennonite school is supported by council here. 

The first step towards building the parochial school is to sever a hectare lot from an 80-hectare farm at 7550 12th Line, near Parker. 

Mapleton council voted in support of the severance on June 9, and it will go to Wellington County’s land division committee for a final decision.  

On Nov. 25, council voted against supporting a land severance application meant to facilitate the school’s construction at 7590 12th Line stating concerns about how it might affect neighbouring farms and doubt about the need for a school in that location. 

The owners chose not to bring that application to the county’s land division committee. 

School representative Matthew Frey said after meeting with neighbours, church leaders and county and township planners, the school site-finding committee decided to leave the old severance application behind. 

“We want our neighbours to know we heard their concerns and are looking for a win-win for everyone,” Frey stated in a letter to council. 

“We willingly walked away from the previous application fees and initial investments, in addition to taking on the extra cost of road build-up and hydro hook-up for the current site,” Frey continued. 

The new proposed location is about 650m southwest down the road from the spot initially proposed.

Mayor Gregg Davidson told the Community News council is supportive of the new location because there are no longer concerns about minimum distance separation setbacks from nearby barns and houses, so the new location would be less likely to cause issues for farmers looking to expand. 

The application is to sever one hectare (2.5 acres) of vacant land from a 79 hectare (195 acre) retained lot with farmland and a dwelling. 

Mapleton planners say the application meets provincial, county and township policies, plans and bylaws and have no concerns with the severance. 

Frey said a new school is needed because enrolment at Goldstone Parochial School “has been increasing dramatically and is forecasted to increase by almost 20 more students in the next three years with potential for further growth.” 

Officials anticipate between 70 and 75 students to be enrolled at the school by September 2028, while it was built for between 45 and 50 students in three classes. 

“Already, we have been improvising by having a fourth class in the basement,” Frey said. 

Officials contacted other local schools, and found both Stirton and Maple Drive Parochial Schools are also at capacity, he said.  

“Since much of the student growth has come from our Old Order Mennonite constituency, we are compelled to build within a reasonable distance of the Goldstone Parochial School to draw families from that community to alleviate the strain from student population growth,” Frey continued. 

“If we were to build in the hamlet of Parker or Alma, for example, the families with horse-drawn transportation would not attend. Based on the current needs and location of families, we have only about a one-kilometre radius of where to place the new school.” 

He said building an addition on to Goldstone Parochial School is not a good option because “as plain Mennonite people, we have always valued our small country schools. 

“We believe having smaller communities builds community better ... Our small, simpler parochial schools are an integral part of maintaining our faith traditions and building strong church members and community builders for the next generation.” 

Frey said the schools include both Old Order and Markham Waterloo Mennonites. 

Unlike Old Order Mennonites, Markham Mennonites do not depend on horse and buggy for transportation, but “the parochial  school system is one system run by the two church groups together,” and so must be accessible to both communities.