St. Clair Catholic District School Board officials say a lot of work has already taken place towards the construction of two new Catholic elementary schools in Chatham.
In June 2017, the Board received approval for $26.7 million in provincial funding to build two new schools – one in north Chatham and one in south Chatham.
Since the announcement of the location for the north school, at 801 McNaughton Ave. W., much has transpired.
“Our staff, our architects and our Ministry of Education partners continue to work together as we strive to design and construct a fantastic state-of-the-art school for our St. Vincent, St. Agnes and Our Lady of Fatima students and families,” said Deb Crawford, Director of Education, in a media release. “However, as can sometimes happen with multi-million dollar projects, some challenges have arisen regarding the construction phase of this work. We continue to work collaboratively with the Ministry to address these challenges and know that a solution will be reached.”
In south Chatham, the Board continues to work with community partners to secure a location for the new school. Although this process has taken longer than anticipated, the Board is confident this challenge will be met.
“The challenges we have encountered mean the timelines for completion of these projects cannot be stated with certainty,” Crawford said. “But good things are worth waiting for and we know that with the co-operation and support of our many partners, we will achieve our common goals.”
In the meantime, the work of the North Chatham Elementary School Transition Committee will continue, as students, parents and staff develop and plan events to bring our three north Chatham school communities together.
“I want to thank our staff, students and parents for their patience and ongoing support,” says John Van Heck, Chair of the Board. “We will continue to update our communities as developments warrant.”
