The new south Guelph high school is slowly taking shape as a boundary review process is set to be initiated once it's approved by the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) Tuesday.
It is being recommended to the board to approve the initiation of the boundary review process so it can create a Grade 9 through 12 attendance area boundary ahead of the 2026/2027 school year. This is when school is expected to open.
This comes from a report part of the UGDSB board meeting agenda ahead of the meeting scheduled for Oct. 8.
The site for the new school is located at the northwest corner of Arkell Road and Victoria Road and it will accommodate 900 students. It was initially approved in 2018 by the province.
As of this year the total cost of the school is $61.1 million.
There are future residential development lands near the new school and the report said this should be considered when considering the boundary.
“This new school will aid in accommodating the forecasted enrolment growth from the new development area and alleviate current enrolment pressures from existing secondary schools in Guelph,” said in the report.
It is also being recommended the second report on the boundary review be received and that the board approves the timeline for the boundary review.
What is considered in a boundary review are the goals, objectives and constraints, which have been outlined in the report. The goal is to establish the attendance area boundaries for the school. The objectives are to consider the impact of boundary or program changes at UGDSB high schools; Centennial CVI, John F. Ross and Guelph CVI. It also aims to maximize the amount of students who can walk to school, and minimize the amount of time students spend on a bus.
The schools mentioned above are all over capacity with the amount of currently enrolled students and the projected enrolment for the 2025/2026 school year is also over capacity.
Here is the timeline as seen in the report:
April 16: Information report to finance and facilities committee meeting.
Sept. 17: Report to finance and facilities committee meeting.
September 2024: Initiate communication plan for stakeholder engagement which includes a survey, plan webpage setup, communication to schools and update school websites.
October 2024: Boundary review staff committee meeting to discuss the boundary reviews process and timelines, communication plan for stakeholder engagement, survey feedback to date.
November 2024 to January 2025: Boundary review staff committee to discuss various boundary options. Review and analyze survey responses and feedback.
February and March: Report to finance and facilities committee meeting providing boundary review options.
Late March: Open house for stakeholder engagement. New survey for feedback on boundary review options.
April: Review and analyze survey and open house feedback. Boundary review staff committee to discuss the recommended option.
May and June: Finance and facilities committee to present the recommended option for consideration.
June and September: Board decision on the boundary review.
Through the process the current high schools and the elementary schools feeding into the new south Guelph high school will be kept in the loop about the boundary review process, said in the report.
