The fate of some 250 elementary school students hangs in the balance as the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) has resolved to sell off one of its schools in Oshawa.
While the DCDSB no longer operates its Father Joseph Venini Catholic Elementary School at 120 Glovers Road, the building continues to serve as an active independent school for Durham Region.
Immanuel Christian School (ICS) has leased and occupied this building for many years, and it is currently home to 250 elementary school students and 30 staff members.
An ICS statement said: “The sale could have significant consequences for ICS, displacing the school and affecting the children, families and staff who rely on it.”
The DCDSB, during its board meeting of September 28, determined that the property is not required for current or future board purposes.
It, therefore, resolved that the site be declared surplus to board needs and authorized staff to proceed with the disposition process.
Following is the text of responses from ICS
Have you received any notice to vacate?
Our contact at the DCDSB recently offered to extend our current lease (which ends in 2028), but then pivoted as it seems a board level decision was made to sell the school, giving us only until the end of our current lease, and little time to secure an alternate facility. Our DCDSB contact has verbally expressed they will honour our current lease through June 30, 2028.
Has ICS formulated next steps?
As the school is settled and thriving here at 120 Glovers Road, the ideal solution would be to remain where we are. In an effort to do that, we are appealing to local politicians, pastors, and community supporters to help find a solution to save the school.
When a surplus DCDSB or DDSB school property is sold, other publicly funded schools and public-service organizations have the first opportunity to purchase it before it may become available on the open market. At that stage, we would likely be competing against developers, with no priority given to our history of operating within the facility.
As a registered non-profit, independently-funded school serving Oshawa since 1962, we have deep roots in this community. We hope to ask the government to consider an exception to the usual order of priority, recognizing our longstanding community contribution and the challenges we would face in competing financially with developers.
Has a new property been identified?
Regrettably, no. It is a real challenge to identify another property capable of retrofitting 13+ classrooms, a gymnasium, library, office and outdoor space suitable for nearly 300 students and staff. We have been extensively researching opportunities with the support of several established realtors.
By when do you expect to shift to new premises?
It is our hope that we can have a seat at the table to make an offer on the property since we don’t have another option. This would allow us to keep our school legacy alive while saving the public and separate school boards from a further overpopulation crisis in the event that our 250 students would be forced to transfer into those systems for their elementary education.
How much in value terms would the whole shifting operation cost?
We are currently running a capital fundraising campaign to help strengthen our potential offer to the board should the opportunity present itself. It’s called The Faithful 1000 and seeks 1000 local supporters in the Durham Region who believe in our mission to help ICS secure a building. We honor each faithful donor inside our “Hall of Faith” here at the school.
