Several planned education projects in London region delayed amid provincial funding review

London’s public school board is alerting parents and the public that several planned education projects in the region, including an anticipated new school in southeast London, have been put on hold.

The Thames Valley District School Board says the delays come as the province continues a review of public education funding.

The projects being delayed also include much-needed renovations and expansions at Masonville, Kettle Creek, and Tweedsmuir public schools, as well as new child care and EarlyON child and family centres in London, Belmont, St. Thomas, Rodney, Dorchester, Woodstock and Ingersoll.

The board says the Ministry of Education has not indicated when the reviews will be finished.

School officials say the delay of the new Southeast London school disrupts the planned closure of Fairmont Public School, whose students were to go either to an expanded Tweedsmuir, or the new school.

Two proposed schools and child care centres in St. Thomas and Belmont have also been delayed as the board has been unable to submit capital priorities to the ministry since last year.

Until the new schools in Belmont and St. Thomas are approved and built, New Sarum, South Dorchester, Springfield, and Westminster Central public schools will not close as expected in June 2020.

In addition to school projects, child care centres and EarlyON Child and Family Centres at Aldborough Public School, River Heights Public School, Algonquin Public School and Harrisfield Public School will not open as anticipated in September 2019.

Parents and guardians of children impacted by the delays should receive letters from the schools on Tuesday, and they’re encouraged to check school websites or at www.tvdsb.ca/planning for updates as more information becomes available.