Ontario Building New School in Marathon
Province more than doubles funding to build new schools, faster
April 25th, 2024
Thunder Bay — The Ontario government is investing $2.3 million in the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l’Ontario for the new École élémentaire publique de Marathon to be jointly located at the Superior Greenstone District School Board’s Margaret Twomey Public School, helping working families in Marathon, as announced by Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay—Atikokan
This will support the creation of 95 french language spaces in Marathon as part of the government’s commitment to building state-of-the-art learning spaces for Ontario students.
This project is part of a $1.3 billion plan that more than doubles funding to build new schools and expansions, including child care spaces, announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, as part of the Capital Priorities Program.
“By investing $2.3 million in École élémentaire publique de Marathon, we’re not just building a school; we’re crafting a brighter future for 95 French-speaking students in Marathon. This funding is a testament to our government’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art learning environments, supporting working families, and enriching the community’s educational landscape,” – Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay—Atikokan.
The overall investment, which is the highest ever made in a single year, supports the creation of more than 27,000 new student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario.
“Our government is more than doubling the funding to build new schools, which represents the single largest investment in school building in Ontario history,” said Minister Lecce. “We are stepping up with a massive investment to build the homes, schools, and communities our province needs, and to ensure children have access to state-of-the-art schools close to home that gives them real life and job skills to succeed in the future. I want to reiterate my thanks to MPP Kevin Holland for his relentless advocacy for local families.”
Ontario’s government unveiled a new plan to build faster, including providing school boards with more flexibility and support to get shovels in the ground quicker and have more options to use existing buildings in their communities. These changes are part of the government’s plan to ensure that the public education system focuses on what matters most: important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; and maximizing capital assets.
“Our government is investing in new schools and improved infrastructure across the province to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families, and growing communities.” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These are part of our historic investment of more than $190 billion over the next ten years to build and deliver the critical infrastructure Ontarians deserve today, and for future generations to come.”
The 2024 Budget: Building a Better Ontario continues to support the province’s work being delivered in the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act to build schools faster and better use taxpayer-funded assets.
Margaret Twomey Public School is located at 21 Chisholm Trail in Marathon.
QUOTES
“The Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Superior-Greenstone School Board, which for many years has been an exemplary partner for the sharing of school space, enabling us to provide French-language public education in our northern communities. This time, we will work together to open a French elementary public school in Marathon. This is great news for the entire community and the students of Marathon. I would like to thank the Government of Ontario for its funding for the necessary renovations to the shared building. This new space will allow us to offer inclusive and comprehensive school programming where the well-being and success of students will be at the forefront.”
- Sébastien Fontaine, Director of Education, Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord
“In our view, schools are more than just educational facilities; they are at the heart of our communities, offering quality programs and services that support children and families alike. Our commitment to this belief is exemplified through our long-standing practice of sharing school spaces with other boards, a testament to our unwavering dedication to collaboration and partnership within our northern communities. For years, Superior-Greenstone School Board has championed the model of shared spaces, as we see the benefits for all. We are pleased to embark on this new partnership.”
- Nicole Morden-Cormier, Director of Education, Superior-Greenstone School Board
QUICK FACTS
- In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced Ontario’s plan to help build schools faster through a transparent, accountable and more efficient process. In the recent Capital Priorities round, school boards were encouraged to standardize the design of new school construction, identify opportunities to work together on joint-use school projects, and bring forward shovel-ready proposals.
- Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested more than $3.6 billion in capital construction projects in education, including 139 new schools, 109 additions and renovations to existing facilities, creating more than 98,000 student spaces and over 8,000 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.
- The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to provide about $16 billion to support new school construction, repair, and renewal over 10 years.
- The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 ensures the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important life‑long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; maximizing capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilizing current school capacity.
- Ontario secured a $13.2 billion agreement with the federal government that will lower fees for families to an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six under the Canada‑wide Early Learning and Child Care system.
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