This morning, Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson announced that Wasaga Beach will be getting a public high school with a windfall of $59.3 million in funding for the project.
This marks the second high school in Wasaga Beach announced by the province within a nine-month period.
“As a dynamic and growing community on the scenic southern shores of Georgian Bay, Wasaga Beach has a long-standing need for a community high school,” Saunderson said in a news release. “With this important investment, this government is addressing that need to provide local students with access to a best-in-class learning experience enhanced by a full complement of extracurricular programs and school events in their own community.”
The new high school build will be located at Sunnidale Road South and Sun Valley Avenue and will include 1,145 student spaces.
Meanwhile, both the local public board and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board put forward a proposal in the last round of submissions for a school serving high school students in Wasaga Beach.
In May, the province announced it had chosen the Catholic board’s junior kindergarten-to-Grade 12 proposal, but then-education minister Stephen Lecce didn’t rule out an option to approve another secondary school for Wasaga Beach in the future. At that time, the province committed $57.7 million for the Catholic school for 1,000 students.
In the latest round of capital priority funding requests, the Simcoe County District School Board moved a Wasaga Beach high school up to number two on its priority list.
“This is a very welcomed announcement for the Simcoe County District School Board,” board education director Dawn Stephens said in a release. “Staff have worked hard to put forward a strong business case and we are grateful that these efforts have attracted the funds required for a much-needed secondary school in Wasaga Beach.
“Wasaga Beach, like many communities in Simcoe County, continues to experience significant growth,” she said.
Collingwood/Wasaga Beach trustee Mike Foley did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.