Construction of the new Leamington District Secondary School is set to begin in April after the public school board unanimously approved the plans for the $32-million project on Tuesday night.
Despite the unanimous support the plans received, trustees heard some frustration from the community over the lack of a running track in the approved designs.
Superintendent of Education Dan Fister says adding a track will likely come down to the community.
"I know there's a lot of people out there moving forward with respect to raising the money to be able to get the track, no different than other communities have in the past," says Fister. "They did it once for the older facility. They'll look to do it again for the new facility."
Fister adds savings in construction contracts could also help the board find the money to build the track, which would replace two planned soccer fields. The two fields aren't level with each other and would need to be leveled in order for the track to be built — an issue Fister sees an in-kind donation as a possible solution to.
"Pulling that dirt out levels out the back component of the property and in doing so that in-kind donation saves money for the project," says Fister.
The new high school is expected to be completed by September 2017.
