THUNDER BAY - A new public elementary school is on pace to be ready for students in 2020.
École Elsie MacGill Public School will replace Edgewater Park and Agnew H. Johnston public schools. It is located on the city’s south side on the field of the former Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
David Wright, the superintendent of business for the Lakehead Public School Board, said the building is about 45 per cent complete, and the board is on track to get the keys from the construction company by April 2020.
“We’re really pleased to say we’re on schedule," Wright said. "So we anticipate getting the school turned over to us, and we’re gonna be on schedule in time to get the students prepped and ready for September.”
The school will be the largest elementary school in the city and will feature a daycare, glassed-in libraries, and the largest gymnasium among elementary schools.
Construction delays
The new school, which was initially expected to cost $20 million, was originally scheduled to be completed by September 2019, but foundational issues slowed the process and increased the price tag.
The issue was brought to the Ministry of Education and the school board was granted an extra $10 million to finish the project.
“We’ve had a great relationship with the two school communities," Wright said. "That was an unfortunate circumstance, but when we realized the extent of the work of the foundation, we realized we couldn’t get it done until 2020.
Students zoned for Agnew and Edgewater will remain enrolled in their respective schools for the 2019-20 school year.
Naming controversy
Additionally, a non-construction related issue arose earlier this year, when members of the community voted for the name of the new school.
In May, Ecole Northern Lights Public School was the overwhelming choice in a vote by the Edgewater Park and Agnew H. Johnston Public School communities.
The name received 492 votes while Elsie MacGill was the third choice out of a possible 240 nominations with 157 of the 904 votes cast.
Shortly after, staff at Northern Lights independent, an alternative school in Thunder Bay established two years ago, publicly criticized the selection of the name.
The board noted that community members were unaware of the name of the alternative school, and scheduled a re-vote in June.
The results gave 52 per cent of the vote to École Elsie MacGill Public School over École Maple Grove Public School.
The public board is happy with the decision and mentioned they have reached out to MacGill’s family, who are said to be honoured with the decision.
“I think it speaks volumes, truthfully,” Wright said. “I think across the province, across the country... there aren’t enough schools named after influential women. So we were very happy to have the community support the name of this school.”
Westgate fully renovated for 2019-20
Wright also provided an update on the construction of Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute, saying that the combined cafeteria and auditorium, and additional landscaping will be fully renovated by the start of the school year.
“The school will be ready to welcome students in September," he said. "There was a small timing issue with glass. We’re going to have plexiglass in front of the etched tiger at the front office, but I bet students won’t notice they’ll be so excited to get in there at the beginning of September.
