FERGUS – Centre Wellington council will decide on Monday whether to declare Strathallan Park here surplus property and sell it to the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB).
The township issued a press release on Jan. 24 noting that staff is recommending approval.
WCDSB reported last fall that a high school is needed in Centre Wellington.
Currently area Catholic students go to high schools in Guelph when they graduate from elementary school.
“The sale of land would be conditional on the approval of the Ministry of Education, and so the surplus declaration is only the first step in the process,” of building a high school on the site, the township press release states.
According to township policy, council must declare the land surplus before negotiating an agreement of sale.
Once that happens, the board can proceed with rezoning the property as institutional.
Owning the property will strengthen WCDSB’s application for a new school with the Ministry of Education.
“As a community preparing for growth, the addition of schools is a necessity that in this case the township can support,” the release states.
According to a report going to council on Jan. 29, WCDSB approached the township about buying the park in order to expand St. Joseph Catholic School and add a high school.
The park is located on Strathallan Street near Highway 6 in Fergus.
The province announced in November it will fund $5.2million for a planned expansion to St. Joe’s, adding eight more classrooms to accommodate 190 more elementary students.
The board also announced in November its plan to further expand St. Joe’s to include a high school component, adding another 21 classrooms to accommodate 249 students from Grades 9 to 12.
If the sale goes through, the park will continue to be maintained by the township before a school is built.
Once a school is constructed, the public can use the green space outside school hours.
