Bill Hall LDCSB trustee
A $1.3 billion investment by the province for new schools is welcome news for St. Thomas.
Included in Monday’s announcement is word the city will get a second London District Catholic School Board high school, thanks to $41 million in funding.
The Ontario government is investing $1.3 billion to build 30 new schools and 15 school expansions across the province, creating more than 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 new licensed child care spaces.
The Ministry of Education’s Capital Priorities program provides school boards across the province with an opportunity to identify their most urgent and pressing pupil accommodation needs.
Trustee Bill Hall admitted the news of a second Catholic high school in St. Thomas is a pleasant surprise.
In August of last year, the LDCSB released its latest list of capital priorities.
The list included two new high schools and four new elementary schools.
An elementary school and high school were pegged for St. Thomas.
They were also on the priority list submitted in 2023 and, unfortunately, they were Numbers 4 and 5 on the priority scale so Hall felt it was unlikely any movement would be seen in the near future.
Number 4 on the list was a new elementary school to house 424 students with an 88-space childcare centre.
Number 5 was a new secondary school to accommodate 826 students.
At the time, there were approximately 1,000 students at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School with seven portables.
Hall says a location for a second Catholic high school has not yet been determined.
The LDCSB continues to be the fastest growing Catholic school board in the province, up more than 1,500 students this year for a total of 27,500.
The board has also hired more than new 1,500 employees over the past couple of years.
Meantime, the Thames Valley District School Board is getting the green light to build a new elementary school in Thamesford and two elementary schools in London.
Written by Ian McCallum
