The chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District Board School Board says he’s disappointed the province has rejected a $16-million funding request to transform the Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School property into a community hub.
The secondary school, which sits on eight acres of land on Bay Street and York Boulevard in downtown Hamilton, is scheduled to close as part a plan to build a new school at Scott Park, expected to open in the fall of next year.
Board chair Todd White said the plan was to turn the Sir John A. Macdonald property into a community hub complete with a new elementary school, affordable housing and a child care centre.
LISTEN: Todd White joins The Bill Kelly Show
The new elementary school on the property was to replace Hess Street and Strathcona schools.
But the Ministry of Education turned down the redevelopment plan because it would leave too many student spaces in the downtown area, White said.
“While we said it’s an OK case, it’s a reasonable case because there would be two schools closing, at the end of the day, we didn’t eliminate enough people spaces, therefore it didn’t justify the price tag,” he said.
He said a result of the ministry’s decision, Hess and Strathcona elementary schools will remain open.
But White said the board will hang onto the Sir John A. Macdonald property, even when the school closes, so the board can pursue other opportunities in the future.
“I have to admit that of all the initiatives we have pursued at the board, this has to be the most disappointing,” White said of the ministry’s decision.