The Thames Valley District School Board says the expansion of Bishop Townshend Public School can now get underway, after the Ministry of Education approved funding for the project.
The board says construction will begin immediately.
“We are very pleased to announce that the ministry has approved capital funding to allow us to move forward with our plans for Bishop Townshend,” says Chair Ruth Tisdale.
Renovations of Bishop Townshend Public School on Quebec St. are necessary before it takes on students from Lorne Avenue Public School, which is slated for closure.
The original plan was to have the work begin last October in hopes of having the school ready for the beginning of the next school year.
But the uncertainty surrounding approval of ministry funding delayed construction.
Scott MacLean, of the group Save Lorne Ave, says he's concerned about the timeline of the transfer of students from Lorne Avenue to Bishop Townshend.
He says it will likely be February before the renovation project is complete.
"We saw a construction timeline based on a January start date that didn't have construction ending until December," says MacLean. "We're talking about an 11 month construction timeline, starting now."
According to MacLean, parents of Lorne Avenue students are still unclear about the board's plans for this fall, when some students will be sent to Bishop Townshend while others will stay at Lorne Avenue until the renovations are complete.
He would like to see the board make things easier for a school community that has already endured a difficult process.
"The ideal situation at this point, because the construction has been delayed so far, would be to look at keeping Lorne Ave open through the next full school year to create a single transition for all the students," says MacLean.
The board plans to release more information about how long the renovation will take and how it plans to place students at its next public meeting, on March 31.
