The Ontario government has given the green light and $18.9 million to the Simcoe County District School Board to move forward with plans to replace a new Shanty Bay Public School to create more places for students.

The approval and funding comes nearly five years after Sue Harrison and other parents presented the idea of ​​new construction to the school board and town.

“We started digging and did some research and discovered the building needed some repairs. The department had deemed repairs prohibitive, and at that point we decided that perhaps we should advocate for a new school rather than repairs,” Harrison explained.

“I worked closely with parents and the community. I firmly believe that they were right, that they had a need and that it was very important for Shanty Bay,” added Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.

The new construction will accommodate nearly 200 students and will be more accessible than the current facility.

“There are considerable problems in terms of being able to move people at multiple levels. For example, his gymnasium is down a long flight of stairs. So with the opportunity to build a new school, we are able to address the accessibility issues there,” said the board’s director of education, John Dance.

The new replacement Shanty Bay Public School will be located at 1871 Ridge Road West in Shanty Bay.

The school board anticipates that the first shovels of earth for the new construction will be started by fall 2025.