A Toronto building once closed because of floundering enrollment has been given a new lease on life.
Around 900 students from York Memorial Collegiate Institute will begin the new school year at the old Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy in Etobicoke.
A six-alarm fire on May 7 left York Memorial with severe structural damage.
Six days later, students and staff were relocated to nearby George Harvey Collegiate Institute to finish out the 2018-19 school year.
Over the past several weeks, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) consulted with parents and students for their input on how to move forward. They were presented with two options.
The first involved remaining at George Harvey. The second broached the possibility of moving to Scarlett Road.
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More than 90 per cent of participants voted in favour of the latter. Mykeda Gallimore was among them.
About to enter the 11th grade in September, Gallimore said it became challenging to attend classes in a school that was already occupied.
“I had my drama class in a staff room and one of my friends had their dance class in a hallway,” she said.
READ MORE: York Memorial C.I. students resume classes at nearby high school, 1 week after devastating fire
Her mother, Deon Morgan, is also relieved to know students will have a place to call their own for the next school year.
“We just want to know, for our peace of mind, how long is it going to be? Is it going to be a permanent move? Or a temporary move?” she questions.
The decision to transfer students to the currently vacant Scarlett Heights also hinged on allowing students of George Harvey and York Memorial to maintain their own identities, and deliver programs specific to the schools.
George Harvey is located at 1700 Keele Street, approximately 700 metres south of York Memorial. In contrast, Scarlett Heights is 5.3 km west.
WATCH: (May 7, 2019) Fire tears through west-end Toronto high school
However, the Etobicoke school is slightly newer, having been built in 1964. The building was closed at the end of June 2018 due to declining enrollment. In fact, only 137 students were enrolled during its last year of operation.
In order to retrofit the facility for an influx of students, repairs will need to be made to a leak in the roof, and five classrooms and a gym that have experienced water damage. The estimated cost for this, and the remaining fixes, is about $1.8 million, the majority of which is expected to be covered by the school’s insurance policy.