BARRIE, ONT. -- Simcoe County school boards are spending big bucks on construction to make sure schools are ready if the Ford government sends students back to the classroom in September.
Millions of dollars worth of repairs are underway at facilities with the Simcoe County District School Boards.
“We have construction projects going on across the county at numerous locations, everything from septic work to roofing work,” said Corey Van Nispen, Controller and Manager of Design and Construction.
The board expects to spend about $18 million on projects over two months; 25 per cent of that will go towards Eastview and Innisdale Secondary Schools in Barrie, as well as Fieldcrest Elementary in Bradford.
“There’s always work that needs to be done,” said Van Nispen.
“We identify the projects that are urgent and need to be done, and we use the funding that we’re provided to address those issues.”
In the meantime, construction continues on the new Barrie South Secondary School.
The facility - which is expected to hold about a thousand students - was originally scheduled to be open in 2016, but numerous delays continued to push the completion date back.
School officials said construction is back on track and should be ready by September 2021.
Meanwhile, the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board is still waiting on approval for two new schools; in Bradford and Alliston.
The board will spend $5 million on minor repairs spread out over about a dozen schools, which will wrap up by September.
