Plans for new Shanty Bay Public School move forward with push from province

The Ontario government gave the green light and $18.9 million to the Simcoe County District School Board to move forward with plans for a new replacement Shanty Bay Public School to create more student spaces.

The nod of approval and funding comes nearly five years after Sue Harrison and other parents of students brought the idea for a new build to the board and the town.

“We started digging in and did a little research and found out that the building needed quite a bit of repair. It had been deemed prohibitive to repair by the Ministry, and so at that point, we decided perhaps we should be advocating for a new school instead of repairs,” Harrison explained.

“I worked very closely with the parents and the community. I believe strongly that they were right, that they had a need and that it was very important to Shanty Bay,” added Doug Downey, Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP.

The new build will support nearly 200 students and be more accessible than the current facility.

“It has considerable issues as far as being able to move people around on multiple levels. For example, it's gymnasium is down a long flight of stairs. And so, with the opportunity to build a new school, we're able to solve the accessibility issues there,” said the board’s director of education John Dance.

The new replacement Shanty Bay Public School will be located at 1871 Ridge Road West in Shanty Bay.

The school board anticipates shovels to be in the ground on the new build by fall 2025.