THORNHILL – Today, Laura Smith, MPP for Thornhill announced that the new E.J. Sand Public School will be welcoming students in September for the 2023-24 school year. This project is a part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, with the province providing the York Region District School Board with $19.2 million to build the school in Thornhill.
This project will deliver 409 elementary spaces and 39 licensed child care spaces for local families during the 2023-24 school year. The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to providing $15 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 child care and education building-related projects, of which more than 100 are actively under construction.
“The completion of the new E.J. Sand Public School in Thornhill is great news for our community,” said Laura Smith, MPP for Thornhill. “This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
Additionally, Ontario is taking action to ensure that school board capital assets are used effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of growing communities, support student learning and ensure value for taxpayer dollars. The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 empowers decision-makers to build modern schools faster by better utilizing school capacity, reducing barriers for school boards to facilitate agreements for schools in multi-use buildings such as condo towers, and shortening planning time by requiring school boards to use certain designs or plans when constructing, renovating, or making additions to schools.
“We are determined to build schools and expansions faster, part of our commitment to modernize schools in fast growing communities,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “We are proud to deliver a new, state-of-the-art E.J. Sand Public School for Thornhill families, along with increasing funding, staffing and a back-to-basics focus on reading, writing and math skills to help ensure students graduate with confidence that they can succeed in good-paying careers.”
Highlights of the project include:
- 409 new student spaces
- 2 new child care rooms (39 new child care spaces)
“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we’re building more state-of-the-art schools to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families and growing communities. By investing in innovative and modern learning spaces, we’re ensuring students have access to the quality education that will provide them with lifelong skills and education in a safe and healthy environment,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are one of the ways we’re delivering on our promise to build Ontario, with an infrastructure budget of more than $148 billion over the next decade.”
“York Region District School Board is committed to providing families with welcoming learning environments that foster student achievement and well-being,” said Ron Lynn, Chair of the York Region District School Board. “The new E.J. Sand Public School will be a valuable asset to the Thornhill community by providing high-quality education and childcare services to students and families.”
E.J. Sand Public School is located at 150 Henderson Avenue in Thornhill. Quick Facts:
- Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $2.2 billion in capital projects in education, including 100 new schools, 88 additions and renovations to existing facilities and nearly 6,500 new licensed child care spaces.
- For the 2023-24 school year, the province is providing school boards with approximately $1.4 billion in funding to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.
- In June, Ontario passed the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 that will ensure the public education system focuses on what matters most: important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improve accountability and transparency for parents and families; and maximize capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilize current school capacity and enhance accountability and transparency.
- In March 2022, the Governments of Canada and Ontario signed a $13.2 billion agreement that will lower child care fees in stages for families, delivering an average of $10 a day child care by September 2025.
SOURCE: MPP Laura Smith
Leave a Reply