An expansion to St. Mary Catholic School in Fort Frances is in the works.
The Northwest Catholic District School Board is receiving $2.6 million from the province.
Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford was at the school on Tuesday to deliver the news.
Director of Education Jackie Robinson says tentative plans call for adding three new classrooms.
“We were really lucky in the original construction of this building that it was made originally to be able to accommodate additions. It’s not that the construction has to start from the ground. We are already prepared to receive two additions to the building,” says Robinson.
The school opened its doors two years, replacing St. Michael’s and St. Francis Schools.
Robinson says an unexpected enrollment increase since opening led to the use of portables which the new classrooms will replace.
“We did move into the school in January of 2020. In that time, our enrollment did increase unexpectedly, and so we had to install portables to accommodate the number of students that we have.”
Two multipurpose rooms inside the school were also reconfigured into classrooms.
“So we’re really excited to be able to get back to having those multipurpose rooms for what they were intended for, as well as have enough room for all of the students here at Saint Mary School”
Two of the new classrooms will be on the north side of the existing school, with the other at the south end.
Robinson says they are hoping to be part of a pilot project that will see those classrooms built off-site and attached to the school at a later date.
“We’re still waiting for final approvals on the modular project. But if that were to happen, it is my understanding that the additional units would be built off location and then installed on the property, really cutting down the construction time that schools normally go under for large renovation.”
