Ontario has provided the Durham District School Board (DDSB) with approval to award the tender for a new yet unnamed North Oshawa public school. This is supported by an investment of $22.2 million, which includes additional funding of $3.8 million.
It will be located at Windfields Farm Drive West and Wintergrace Avenue in Oshawa. Once completed, this project will deliver 536 elementary spaces and 73 childcare spaces for local families.
“The funding for a new unnamed North Oshawa public school is great news for our community,” said Todd McCarthy, MPP for Durham. “This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
The Government of Ontario is delivering more than $26.6 billion in education funding for the 2022-23 school year, including an increase of over $600 million in September 2022, which is the highest investment in public education in Ontario’s history. Investing in the province’s schools is an integral part of Ontario’s Plan to Catch Up, which is squarely focused on the priorities of parents and includes five key components:
- Kids being back in the classroom, on time with a full school experience that includes extracurriculars like sports, band and field trips;
- Investing more than $175 million for enhanced tutoring support programs delivered by school boards and community partners, with a focus on reading, writing and math;
- Updating the curriculum to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow, including opportunities in the skilled trades;
- Providing more money to build schools and improve education; and
- Allocating $90 million – the highest amount in Ontario history, and a 420 per cent increase from 2017-18 – to support student mental health.
The investment is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to providing $14 billion to support school construction, repair, and renewal over 10 years. Since 2018, the government has approved nearly 200 school construction projects and the development of more than 300 childcare and education building-related projects, of which more than 100 are actively under construction.