NEWS RELEASE
SAM OOSTERHOFF, MPP FOR NIAGARA WEST
*************************
The Ontario government is investing nearly $96 million in capital funding for three new elementary schools in Niagara, including Welland-Thorold Elementary School, Thorold East Elementary School and South Welland Elementary School. Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, announced the capital funding for the District School Board of Niagara projects, which will support hard working families across the region.
The provincial funding will support the creation of 2,060 elementary student spaces and 147 licensed child care spaces in Welland and Thorold as part of the government's commitment to building modern learning spaces for Ontario students.
"With the expansion of Quaker Road and Fitch Street Public Schools in Welland well underway, this significant funding for three new schools in Welland and Thorold is great news for our region," said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.
"This local investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead."
The local projects are part of $1.3 billion in funding to build new schools and expansions, including child care spaces, announced as part of the Ministry of Education's Capital Priorities Program.
The ongoing investments in education and child care projects will result in over 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 licensed child care spaces at school sites across Ontario.
"As a mother, I understand that the local school really is the heart of the community. It is so important for young families to have a school that is close to home," said Hon. Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education.
"Our government is proud to deliver three new schools in Niagara, including Welland-Thorold Elementary School, Thorold East Elementary School and South Welland Elementary School, along with increasing funding, staffing and a back-to-basics focus on reading, writing and math to help ensure students graduate with the fundamental skills they need to succeed."
Schools and child care centres are an essential piece of the community landscape. Funding these local infrastructure projects demonstrates that the government is meeting urgent needs to address growth related to demographic changes and housing development.
"Our government is investing in new schools and improved infrastructure across the province to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families, and growing communities," said Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure.
"These are part of our historic investment of more than $190 billion over the next ten years to build and deliver the critical infrastructure Ontarians deserve today, and for future generations to come."
Highlights of the projects include:
-
Welland-Thorold Elementary School
-
$33.1 million
-
726 elementary student spaces
-
Forty-nine licensed child care spaces
-
To be located at Niagara Street and Merritt Road in Welland
-
-
Thorold East Elementary School
-
$33.5 million
-
726 elementary student spaces
-
Forty-nine licensed child care spaces
-
To be located at a site to be acquired in Thorold
-
-
South Welland Elementary School
-
$28.9 million
-
608 elementary student spaces
-
Forty-nine licensed child care spaces
-
To be located at a site to be acquired in Welland
-
Quick Facts:
-
Ontario is meeting the needs of growing communities with over 200 new schools and additions underway that will create over 97,000 pupil spaces in the coming years.
-
For the 2024-25 school year, the ministry has allocated renewal funding of approximately $1.4 billion to school boards to renew and improve schools.
-
The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to provide about $16 billion to support new school construction, renewal and improvement over ten years.
-
In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced Ontario's plan to help build schools faster through a transparent, accountable and more efficient process. School boards were encouraged to standardize the design of new school construction, identify opportunities to work together on joint-use school projects and bring forward shovel-ready proposals.
-
The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023, ensures the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important lifelong skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; maximizing capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilizing current school capacity.
-
The government is committed to providing families with more affordable and accessible child care as part of the federal government's national child care program. Effective January 1, 2025, Ontario has capped child care fees at $22 per day for families with children in programs enrolled in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system.
Additional Resources:
-
Support for School and Child Care Infrastructure Projects in Ontario
-
Ontario More Than Doubling Funding to Build New Schools
-
Ontario Unveils Plan to Build Modern Schools Faster
*************************