HDSB gets a new school in Southeast Milton

By Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ontario is building another school in Southeast Milton.  Milton MPP Parm Gill announced a $20.8 million provincial investment in Milton SE School #13 for the Halton District School Board (HDSB).

“As our community continues to grow, our government understands the need for more schools and childcare spaces in Milton, and I am very proud to deliver on that commitment,” Gill said.  This is the eighth new school announced by the province since 2018, and the second in as many weeks. For Halton District School Board Trustee Heather Gerrits it represents a start to dealing with the Town of Milton’s growth.  “As Milton rapidly expands, it is my hope that more new schools are being considered, as well as capital priority funding projects for our older school,” Gerrits said.

Ward 3 Regional Councilor Mike Cluett used the announcement to highlight the town’s need for more.  “We at the town/regional level will continue to advocate to the province for faster approvals on schools so we can begin to make a dent in the number of schools needed and reduce our dependence on portables.  For example one of our high schools now has 60 portables and some students need to be bused to other areas in the region for their education. This isn’t the way it should be done,” he said in a statement on his website.  The school Cluett refers to is St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School located at the southeast corner of Bronte and Louis St. Laurent.  The situation has meant students will have to leave their cars in the parking lot on the south side of Milton Community Park, and use a shuttlebus to connect to school.

The school will support 788 new student spaces, and 88 child spaces.  The school’s construction will include improved ventilation as part of COVID-19 related precautions.  The new school is part of a $14 billion Provincial investment program supporting new school construction over the next 10 years.