Ontario investing $42.5M to replace Alliston's Banting Memorial High School

The Ontario government announced a "historic investment" of $42.5 million for the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) to build a replacement high school in Alliston.

Replacing the 73-year-old Banting Memorial High School has been a hot topic for years as the building ages and the student population grows.

"The school was needed yesterday," Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said via Zoom Monday while making the funding announcement.

The education minister said the project would also include a child care space at the high school, plus a two-room child care centre at Tecumseth Beeton Elementary School in Beeton.

"For Simcoe County students, our investment will address an urgent need to replace an ageing school by investing in this rural community after years of neglect under the previous government," Lecce said.

Once complete, the new Banting Memorial High School will have 1,288 secondary school spaces, including one infant, one toddler and one preschool room for 49 licenced spaces.

The renovated child care centre at the Beeton elementary school will have one toddler and one preschool room for 39 licensed spaces.

While Lecce mentioned a timeline of 2024 for the project's completion, SCDSB's director of education said that it seemed "optimistic."

"We have not decided on a site at all at this point," said John Dance.

Dance noted that the location of the new high school has been under debate and wouldn't necessarily be at the existing site.