Earlier this month, the Rainbow District School Board received a total of $23 million to aid in the consolidation and closure of several of its schools.
That included $12.5 million to build a new French immersion junior kindergarten to Grade 6 school for students from Carl A. Nesbitt P.S., Ernie Checkeris P.S. and Westmount Avenue P.S., which will all be closed.
But the Rainbow board, stemming from its accommodation review process, also asked the province for funds to build a new junior kindergarten to Grade 6 school to replace two elementary schools located in the city's core.
The school would be built on the current site of Queen Elizabeth II Public School, and house students from both Queen Elizabeth and Lansdowne Public School, the latter of which would close.
Grade 7 and 8 Lansdowne students would be sent to Sudbury Secondary School.
But funds for this project were not forthcoming from the province.
A People for Education report released last month estimates that 121 Ontario schools are slated to close, as most boards are also going through accommodation review processes.
That means most boards are probably also asking for funds to consolidate and build new schools right now, and have to prioritize projects, said Rainbow board director of education Norm Blaseg.
He said the board is disappointed it didn't receive the funds to build the Queen Elizabeth site school, but isn't losing sight of the fact it did receive $23 million from the province.
Blaseg said board staff will be taking a look at the application, seeing if it needs adjustment, and re-applying for funds.
“We're hopeful,” he said. “We know the application process is such that we have to apply in September. We'll see what the outcome is, and if we don't make it this year, we apply again in January.
“We have to try and figure out the equation, and maybe at the end of the day, we won't be successful. That doesn't mean we won't continue to try.”
With the board failing to gain funding for the Queen Elizabeth site school, that means, of course, that Lansdowne won't be closing in the fall of 2019, as the board had planned.
“Until we hear something else, it will not go forward,” Blaseg said. “It is contingent upon the dollars. That hasn't happened, and so we will not be moving forward until we hear something from the government.”
In launching the accommodation review process, the Rainbow board said it was looking at consolidating and closing schools to save money and ensure it can balance its budget going forward.
Given Lansdowne won't be closing as scheduled, Blaseg said board staff will have to be creative in making sure the board stays in the black.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and challenge our admin staff to figure out 'OK, if we're not closing this, how are we going to find the funds?'” he said.
