A new school in Shanty Bay will open in 2027, but at a much higher cost

In the fall of 2027, Shanty Bay children will have their first opportunity to track mud throughout the new public school in the village of Oro-Medonte.

The Ontario government announced Wednesday that it has granted the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) permission to put out to tender for a new replacement school in the village, located about 15 minutes from Barrie.

As announced, the provincial government will spend $18.9 million on the new facility – $13 million more than the project’s original price tag of $5.9 million when it was first announced in July 2020.

“Funding for a new replacement Shanty Bay Public School is great news for our community,” Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Downey said in a news release announcing the tender approval. “Since taking office, I and my team of parents, students and teachers have advocated for this school to remain in the Shanty Bay community.

“This investment will ensure families and students have access to a high-quality learning environment for years to come,” he added.

Once completed, the school will be able to accommodate the same number of students as it currently has, 190.

“While details are still being discussed, we can say that construction of the replacement school will take place on the existing site and that construction will not impact the current academic year,” said Sarah Kekewich, communications manager for the SCDSB.

“The target opening date is 2027,” she added.

According to Kekewich, the board is still working on a plan to provide housing for students while the new facility is being constructed and will communicate that information to parents, teachers and staff once it is confirmed.

John Dance, director of education for the public school board, welcomed the provincial funding.

“This is exciting news for students, staff and families who have advocated for the replacement of Shanty Bay Public School,” Dance said in the release. “The substitute school will address current facility constraints and ensure students continue their education in their community for many years to come.”

Downey has been pushing for a new school for the past four years.

In a July 2020 article published on the website Barrie todayDowney praised small schools, calling them “the heart of our community.”

He said at the time that the new school was a direct result of support from parent groups in the Shanty Bay school community.

“This passionate community spirit is what makes small schools an integral part of our rural communities,” he said at the time.

In September 2019, SCDSB trustees reluctantly voted to include the new Shanty Bay school among the 10 capital projects submitted to the province for approval.

As a result of uncertainty at Queen’s Park over school class sizes and difficulties in acquiring land in the southern part of the county within tight provincial deadlines, “urgently needed” schools in Bradford and Alcona were removed from the list.

Here is the list of schools, in order of priority, approved by the trustees:

1. New Bradford South Primary School
2. Banting Memorial High School substitute school
3. Lake Simcoe Public School addition
4. Addition of Killarney Beach Public School
5. Primary school in New Angus
6. New Alliston Primary School
7. New Orillia Elementary School
8. New Barrie Primary School No. 1, Southeast
9. New Barrie Primary School No. 1, Southwest
10. Foster school at Shanty Bay Public School

The most controversial issue was the inclusion of a new primary school in Shanty Bay.

Before the meeting, a pair of Oro-Medonte residents – Alastair Connolly and Sue Harrison – made a passionate appeal to board members, urging them to demolish Shanty Bay Public School and build a larger facility on the site.

The duo asked to make the presentation after learning that a new school in Shanty Bay was not originally one of the board’s 10 priorities.

In their testimony to the board, they caused a minor sensation when they revealed that they had met with Stephen Lecc, then the province’s education minister, at his district office in King City. Downey, then-Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes and then-Ward 3 principal Cathy Keane also attended the meeting “in support” of the new school in Shanty Bay.

This enraged board chairwoman Jodi Lloyd, a trustee representing Orillia, Severn and Ramara Township.

“I’m very concerned that this meeting was held without the courtesy of an invitation to the school board that actually makes these decisions,” said Lloyd, who noted that boards across the province “are facing challenges.”

She said the process should not be politicized; decisions should be based on the merits of the business cases presented. “This undermines the integrity of the process,” she stressed.

— With the files of Dave Dawson and Raymond Bowe