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Almaguin students to be in new home by 2011

Nipissing MPP Monique Smith News Release ********************** The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) students should be in their new Almaguin Highlands Secondary School in 2011.
Kate Adams
Nipissing MPP Monique Smith
News Release

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The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) students should be in their new Almaguin Highlands Secondary School in 2011.

“We are very pleased to see this project finally moving forward,” said Nipissing MPP Monique Smith today.

Funding for the new Almaguin Highlands Secondary School was announced in June 2007 by then Education Minister, Kathleen Wynne and Nipissing MPP Monique Smith. In June 2007, Wynne and Smith visited students at Almaguin Highlands Secondary School, which was identified as prohibitive-to-repair by the Near North District School Board. The McGuinty government approved $18.7 million to build a replacement school through the Prohibitive to Repair program.

In December 2008 the provincial government allocated a further $1.3M to the NNDSB as part of a province-wide increase of 7% to projects to reflect higher construction costs and the inclusion of green features.

In 2008 the NNDSB participated in a pilot project for new projects, which included a comparative costing of a reference secondary school, selected by the board, in the GTA and in South River to determine the actual cost of construction in South River which resulted in an additional $800,000 for the project.

As a result of added expenses to the project resulting from the NNDSB’s selection of a site that required more work than was anticipated, the MEDU invested a further $3.5M in December 2009.

To date, the province has committed $24.4M to the project.

In January 2010, the NNDSB requested permission of the MEDU to transfer funds from reserves to their capital account as their final stage to move the project forward. By letter dated April 16, 2010, the Ministry of Education provided that approval and noted that they are highly supportive of a new secondary school in South River and respect the urgency in proceeding with this project.

“I am pleased that the Ministry of Education has shown such tremendous support for the new Almaguin Highlands Secondary School, and I am as anxious as the students and families of the Almaguin region to see the breaking of ground on this project,” said Monique Smith, MPP for Nipissing.

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