Student numbers surge leads to $11.3M for growth at 3 Windsor schools

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Just a day after announcing a $3.7-million grant to expand a Windsor high school, the province on Wednesday announced another $7.6 million to provide additional spaces at two city elementary schools.

“This is definitely a growing community,” Greater Essex County District School Board director Vicki Houston said of the South Windsor neighbourhood served by both growing elementary schools.

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The public school board is getting $3.7 million to create 184 new student spaces at Glenwood Public School and $3.9 million for another 184 spaces at Roseland Public School.

Both elementary schools have faced ballooning student enrolment challenges that come with a growing population in South Windsor.

Local MPP Andrew Dowie (PC — Windsor-Tecumseh) was joined on Wednesday by Houston for the public board spending announcement, the day after Dowie made a similar presentation with the local Catholic school board for a $3.7-million provincial investment to add eight new classrooms at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in the city’s east end.

“It’s even more important to get the planning done right and to be more rapid in our deployment of school funding, and getting the plans through faster because we know the students are coming, and we need to prepare for them,” said Dowie.

In addition to South Windsor, Dowie said “tremendous growth” in population is also underway in Riverside and Forest Glade areas on the city’s east side.

Local school boards are also having to address changing neighbourhood demographics.

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“We’re starting to see a changeover from some of the more traditional older residents moving out or moving into condo spaces, and younger families starting to move in with children,” said Houston.

With the influx of young families moving in comes the ensuing challenges within the schools to accommodate higher enrolment.

“Because you’re working within the limited space with more people than there is space for, you sometimes tend to have to give up office space, libraries, to make those into classrooms, which is not ideal for student learning,” said Houston.

“So when you do get an addition such as this, it provides that real critical learning space that can be set up for students.”

The new funding will help create eight new classrooms at Glenwood Public School and possibly 10 more at Roseland Public School.

Houston said congestion during pickup and drop-off times is another challenge the schools are navigating. She said parents are encouraged to use active transportation — like walking or cycling — to cut back on traffic.

She added both schools have experienced higher enrolment for “at least five years, with ebbs and flows.”

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To help address the demand for housing, Dowie said Windsor will see increased density with schools and housing.

In March, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced a plan to explore housing developments on eight city-owned properties. One of the sites identified was the footprint of South Windsor’s Roseland Golf and Curling clubhouse, as well as some of its parking lot, for a 38-unit condo building.

“When people are looking to locate here — and we want those skilled individuals to come here — they look at everything,” said Dowie. “They look at the neighbourhoods, they look at the schools, they look at the amenities.

“That’s why it’s important that we invest in amenities, invest in clean facilities, to make sure that our neighbourhoods are attractive for those investments. We can continue to grow our economy and give young people the opportunities that they need to succeed in life.”

Dowie said the biggest hold-up to meeting growing enrolment needs is the province’s lengthy approval process.

“The Greater Essex County District School Board has had many waits over the years, as has the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board — waiting and waiting and waiting for announcements like these,” he said Wednesday.

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One example Dowie cited was the 12 years it took for the new Catholic Central High School to have its grand opening last year.

“There have been some changes at the provincial level to accelerate those approvals,” Dowie said.

Prior to being selected for provincial funds, Houston said the public board was looking at potentially redrawing school catchment boundaries to curb enrolment numbers at individual schools.

Instead of rebuilding at a new location or relying on portables, she said the approved expansions will happen “right on the property that we already have.”

The project is part of the Ministry of Education’s capitol priorities program, a $1.3-billion plan that will support new school construction, repairs and expansions in the coming academic year.

The investment will help create more than 27,000 new student spaces and 1,700 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario.

Houston hopes to see both public board expansions completed by the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

mmazak@postmedia.com

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