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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 9, 20 21 | 4 A one-time connection fee will apply to each new line or device activation/upgrade. * Speeds reduced beyond Fast LTE data amounts. For Digital Discount program details and how to redeem your $5 monthly discount, visit freedommobile.ca/digitaldiscount.All Freedom Mobile services are subject to our Terms of Service, Internet Tra c Management Policy, Fair Usage Policy, and Privacy Policy located at freedommobile.ca.The Freedom Mobile name and logos and other words, titles, phrases,marks, logos, icons, graphics are trademarks of, or used under license by, Freedom Mobile Inc.All rights reserved. Oakville Smart Centre 261 Oak Walk Drive Oakville 289.291.3261 Walkers Line 3505 Upper Middle Road Burlington 289.427.5260 Appleby Village 5111 New Street Burlington 905.635.0584 WITH DIGITAL DISCOUNT SLEIGH OVERPRICED DATA. funded schools, leading to severe enrollment pres- sures in high-growth areas such as north Oakville and Milton and escalating costs which surpass Minis- try of Education funding. In four years, construc- tion capital costs have ris- en approximately 42 per cent, and the ministry is asking the HDSB to "con- form to building new schools with 90 per cent of the benchmark funding," according to trustees who shared their growing frus- tration in a recent letter to Education Minister Ste- phen Lecce. Milton's newest high school (Elsie MacGill), currently under construc- tion, exceeded ministry funding by $3M, a differ- ence covered by the board. "This is not sustainable or equitable as it impacts other areas, including our ability to upgrade aging schools adequately and in a timely way," the letter states. The ministry requires four approvals at various pre-construction stages, which can add a year to a project, at which time "construction costs have risen above the proposed budget." "Ministry benchmarks are very difficult to achieve with the board's new projects," said Ian Gaudet, HDSB's executive officer of facility services. Rapid growth in north Oakville and Milton has led to holding schools that are bursting at the seams and portables dotting school properties. Most recently, hun- dreds of secondary stu- dents from new develop- ments north of Dundas Street in Oakville have been told they will be tem- porarily bused to Thomas A. Blakelock High School, south of the QEW, to allevi- ate pressure at White Oaks Secondary School until the new Oakville NE #1 high school is built. Ministry funding for the new school was approved in July of 2020 with an uncertain opening scheduled for the 2024/2025 school year. In April of last year, Milton's Viola Desmond Public School was forced to close registration and re- route new students to five other elementary schools. The construction of two other much-needed Milton elementary schools has been delayed. Trustees' concerns with the "deficiencies" in the process for accessing capi- tal needs, which means the board is continually play- ing catch-up in high- growth communities, have been discussed at the board many times. It's the students who suffer, said Milton trustee Heather Gerrits, at the announced delay of Milton SW #1 earli- er this year, scheduled to have opened in January of 2022. "We've had a number of examples over the last few years where the bureau- cratic or political process- es have gotten in the way of us having approval done in a timely manner," com- mented Oakville trustee Joanna Oliver. "I think it's imperative that the ministry and the premier are well aware of how the bureaucratic pro- cesses are getting in the way of getting things done and doing that efficiently and cost-effectively." Capital requests cur- rently occur at the whim of the government, com- mented Milton resident Kim Graves. "Two years can go by without the government entertaining the idea of building new schools. For a high-growth area like Milton or north Oakville, two years is too late to keep up with the new housing builds. The capital request process should have a con- sistent timeline." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the capacity of many local schools be- ing pushed to the limit, we wanted to take a closer look at the process that trustees say is delaying new schools from being built in the community. NEWS Continued from page 3 Halton District School Board chair Margo Shuttleworth says the province's approval process is causing delays in new school openings. Graham Paine/Metroland LOCAL SCHOOLS FACING ENROLLMENT PRESSURES