Province’s investment in innovative and modern learning spaces will ensure students have high quality education in a safe and healthy environment
NEWS February 16, 2024
BRANTFORD – As part of the province’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, the Ontario Government has provided the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board with approval for a scope change at the new St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School in Brantford to create more student spaces. This is supported by an investment of $50.7 million which includes additional funding of $5 million.
Once completed, the scope change will add 138 additional secondary spaces to the existing secondary school to create a total of 1,257 student spaces and 128 new child care spaces for Brantford families at the new school. The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to providing about $15 billion to support school construction, repair, and renewal over 10 years. Since 2018, the government has approved or supported the development of nearly 300 school-related projects including child care, of which more than 100 are actively under construction.
“The funding for a scope change at St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School in Brantford is great news for our community,” said Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford—Brant. “This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
Additionally, Ontario is taking action to ensure that school board capital assets are used effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of growing communities, support student learning and ensure value for taxpayer dollars. The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 empowers decision-makers to build modern schools faster by better utilizing school capacity, reducing barriers for school boards to facilitate agreements for schools in multi-use buildings such as condo towers, and shortening planning time through design standardization when constructing, renovating, or making additions to schools.
“We are determined to build schools and expansions faster, part of our commitment to modernize schools in fast growing communities,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “We are proud to deliver a scope change for the new St. Padre Pio Secondary School that will create more student spaces for Brantford families, along with increasing funding, staffing and a back-to-basics focus on reading, writing and math skills to help ensure students graduate with confidence that they can succeed in good-paying careers.”
Highlights of the project include:
- 138 new student spaces (3 technology classrooms and 3 regular classrooms)
- 1,257 total student spaces
- 8 new child care rooms (128 new child care spaces)
“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we’re building more state-of-the-art schools to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families and growing communities. By investing in innovative and modern learning spaces, we’re ensuring students have access to the quality education that will provide them with lifelong skills and education in a safe and healthy environment,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are one of the ways we’re delivering on our promise to build Ontario, with an infrastructure budget of more than $148 billion over the next decade.”
“This additional funding enables us to meet the space, and teaching and learning requirements, for the upcoming new mandatory Grade 9 or 10 technology credit for students and increase the number of classrooms, giving our students more choices when selecting from a wide array of course options,” said Chair of the Board, Rick Petrella. “I’d like to thank Minister Lecce, MPP Bouma, Mayor Davis, and all individuals involved, not only in the original plan for Brantford’s newest Catholic secondary school but also for this additional funding that is going to ensure that our new school will offer exceptional teaching and learning for students well into the future.”
St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School will be located on Powerline Road in North Brantford.
Quick Facts:
- Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $2.2 billion in capital projects in education, including 100 new schools, 88 additions and renovations to existing facilities and nearly 6,500 new licensed child care spaces.
- For the 2023-24 school year, the province is providing school boards with approximately $1.4 billion in funding to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.
- In 2023, Ontario passed the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 that will ensure the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important life-long 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.
- In March 2022, Ontario secured a six-year, $13.2 billion agreement with the federal government that will lower child care fees for families to an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six. Ontario aims to reach that target by September 2025.
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For additional information, call (519) 759-0361 or email will.bouma@pc.ola.org