Duchess Park To Be Full Size

By 250 News

Main entrance to existing Duchess Park High School (photo Opinion250 archive)

School District 57 has confirmed it has been given approval to design a new Duchess Park school  that will be home to 900 students.  That is a full 250 students more than the Ministry of Education had initially wanted, but the School District explained the extra spaces were necessary to provide space for the French Immersion programs.

The Ministry has written to the School District saying it will provide the $25.5 million towards the construction, and understands the School District will sell off excess  property to make up the balance. 

Should the School District fall short of its goal to raise the extra $5.5 million the Ministry says "Additional capital funding will be provided to enable the successful completion of the Duchess Park project."   

Trustee Lois Boone offered thanks to Minister of Education Shirley Bond saying she didn’t think this agreement could have come forward if it hadn’t been for the help of Shirley Bond.  "This school is very important to us and Minister Bond shared that with the Ministry staff, so Duchess Park will now move forward with all of its programs intact."

King George V school was levelled as part of the plan to prepare the site for the construction of a new Duchess Park Secendary School.  The new school’s design will include a commemorative  area which will feature some of the most prominent features of KGV, including a window, stair rail and newel post.

The design of  the new Duchess Park school has yet to be completed.

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