Trustees with the Greater Essex County District School Board have approved designs and budgets for expansions at two schools, and now it's just waiting for the province to give its final approval.
Superintendent of Education Todd Awender said the student populations at Northwood and Queen Elizabeth Public Schools have grown significantly. So far, the board has managed it with portables. That will change when construction wraps up in January 2025.
Northwood will get eight new classrooms, washrooms, offices, custodial space, and storage for a price tag of $4.8-million.
Greater Essex County District School Board Superintendent of Education, Accommodation Todd Awender on January 29, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
"We currently have nine portables on the site, and the addition at Northwood is going to allow us to use portables in other places if necessary and basically take them away from that school," said Awender.
Three portables at Queen Elizabeth will also be removed.
"There's going to be four kindergarten rooms added, four new child care spaces, an EarlyON Years space," explained Awender. "Where the current [full-time kindergarten rooms are] right now, that's going to be renovated into three classrooms and a special education classroom."
The cost of renovations at Queen Elizabeth is $8.1-million, but $1-million will come from the board's school renewal allocation.
Awender admitted it's hard to say when provincial approval will come, saying it could be three weeks or three months, but he's confident construction will start soon.