By Sophie Dudley [1]
BELLEVILLE – A proposal to amalgamate two Belleville elementary schools, Queen Elizabeth Public School and Queen Victoria School, took a step forward Monday.
At a meeting held by the operating and finance committee at the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board [2] office Monday, trustees discussed the location of a new kindergarten to Grade 8 school that will combine both Queen Elizabeth Public School [3] and Queen Victoria School [4]. The new building will be at the Queen Elizabeth Public School location.
Queen Elizabeth Public School was built in 1951. Queen Victoria School is the oldest school in Belleville, built more than a century ago in 1912. The first discussion of the proposal to consolidate the schools came with some upset from parents who wanted the historically rich building to continue operating as a school.
The future of both the buildings once the new build is complete has not yet been determined.
Director of Education for the board Mandy Savery-Whiteway said they had considered alternate locations for the new build but the Queen Elizabeth site had the largest space available. She said the decision was made by the trustees in the committee but still has to go through the board.
The business case has been approved by the Ministry of Education [5] and the new project will receive $10.5 million in funding, said Savery-Whiteway.
“We’re looking at opening up 472 (pupil) spaces,” said Savery-Whiteway.
The decision to bring together the two schools came after an accommodation review study conducted among 11 schools in Belleville last year, said Kerry Donnell, the communications officer for the board.
“We are very fortunate to receive this funding,” said Donnell. “It’s an exciting time for students, staff and the community.”
While still in the early stages, the board have an approximate timeline for the new project:
- April to December 2018: Architect engagement and design plans take place.
- January 2019 to June 2019: Ministry approval of design and gather necessary building permits.
- July 2019 to December 2020: Construction of new school.
For at least the next couple of years students at both schools will remain where they are, said Savery-Whiteway.