The provincial government is investing $2 million in a three-classroom expansion project at the Plympton-Wyoming Public School.
Associate Director of Corporate Services for the Lambton Kent District School Board Brian McKay said the new rooms will ensure that dozens of children are no longer in portables.
"The expansion is the result of increased enrollment at the school. So right now, we have two portables on site for students because we don't have enough classroom space at the school, so we're using two portables, and that is expected to grow, adding an additional portable in the upcoming years. Hence, the need for the three-classroom expansion," said McKay.
The expansion project includes three new classrooms and is expected to take about a year to build.
"Once we break ground, it's going to take about a year to build. It's in design stages right now, final design, and then once the design is done, then we'll tender the project. So we look to break ground this summer," said McKay. "The school is being designed by a company called ROA studio. They are based in Chatham, so they are within the, you know, within the area of the board. So they are one of our local architects that is right now finalizing the design."
The school was built to hold 257 students, and enrollment is currently at 289, with that number expected to rise over the coming years.
"We're already over the number of students that the school can handle. Can handle, hence the portables, and that's expected to continue to grow, which is why the ministry gave us the approval for an expansion of three classrooms," said McKay.
The funding is a part of the Ontario government's plan to build and expand schools across the province.
Over the past two years, the government has committed $1.3 billion annually in new school buildings, additions and renovations.
