Officials with the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) said the province has approved additional funding requests for two major local school projects.
Thursday’s announcement included the unveiling of $51.6 million for a replacement secondary school for Regina Mundi Catholic College (RMC).
“This is amazing news for high school students in south London” said Vince Romeo, LDCSB director of education.
According to the school board, the new school is set to be built on the current property and will hold a capacity of 700 students.
With construction set to begin in the spring, officials said that the rising material and construction costs, as well as inflation and pandemic-related delays contributed to the need for additional funding.
The new school will replace the current structure, built in 1963 by the Diocese of London.
“With this updated funding model, we are excited to be able to move forward and build a purpose-built, modern facility designed to serve the school community,” Romeo added. “We are thankful for the support of the Ministry of Education in moving this project forward.”
Additionally, the province announced $11.1 million in additional funding for the expansion of St. Michael’s Catholic Elementary School in Woodstock.
The plan is to include space for an additional 230 students, increasing the schools capacity levels to around 610, according to the school board. A larger gym and a five-room child-care centre are also detailed in the expansion.
Current enrolment at the school is approximately 550 students.
The funding announcement comes as the provincial government said that it would be expanding license childcare spaces in London through the investment of $62.3 million this year.
Education minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement Thursday and said the investment would create an additional 2,899 spaces in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) SYSTEM.
The funding was previously announced in Dec. 2022 for the creation of 53,000 licensed spaces by 2026, but no specific numbers were given at the time.
Both announcements come as London was previously ranked as one of the worst cities in Canada when it comes to providing childcare coverage.
– with files from Global News’ Benjamin Harrietha.
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