The Director of Education for the Bluewater public school board is all smiles.
The board today received over 24 million dollars in funding from the province for new schools in Walkerton and Owen Sound.
The Ministry of Education has allocated 18.5 million dollars for a new J-K to Grade 12 school in Walkerton.
The Bluewater board also receives 6.3 million dollars to construct a new Alexandra elementary school and also build an addition at Sydenham Elementary.
The Bruce Grey Catholic Board also received 1.5 million dollars to build an addition to St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Elementary School in Durham.
The Director of Education for Bluewater — Mary Anne Alton — is thrilled with the announcements.
She says the province has listened to the concerns of the community and provided resources for much needed facilities.
The new JK to Grade 12 school will replace Walkerton District Secondary as well as Walkerton Public and Brant Central School.
Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell says this is a great day for Walkerton since residents have been working through an accommodation review since 2001.
Alton says the target date to open the new school is the Spring of 2012 and it will house 900 students.
Bluewater already has two JK to Grade 12 schools in Lions Head and Wiarton.
Alton likes the format because she says it maximizes their resources and allows older students to mentor younger students.
She notes it also eliminates the transition for students to move from one school to another when graduating into high school for example.
That is something that will also in Owen Sound.
As part of the decision to close Strathcona Public School — Sydenham, Bayview and Alexandra schools became JK to Grade 8 schools instead of ending at Grade 6.
Alton says the addition at Sydenham will accommodate the extra students.
Alton says they were also worried about the infrastructure at Alexandra so they will build a new school on land next to the existing school.
The addition for Sydenham is expected to be ready by December 2010 and the new Alexandra school should be open in 2011.
Alton adds this is another move that shows they have a strong working relationship with the McGuinty government.