High School Construction Delay: Council Accountability
Asked by Melissa Marshall · 2 months ago
Funding for our new high school has been available since 2021, yet we are still years from breaking ground, while Ontario communities funded after us are already under construction. The Province did not create that delay, council vote did.
For the record: A 2023 closed-session decision delayed the project, with individual votes not readily available. In December 2024, the vote to advance the school was
YES: Norcross, Gabrek, Masters, Jacks and Foster;
NO: MacLellan, Cox and Harrison McIntyre.
Biss and Rapin recused.
Question:
If you were on Council or the Board when these decisions were made, how did you vote, and why?
That delay cost this community roughly two years. What did we gain that justified it? What materially changed about the site, plan or agreement between the 2023 decision and the eventual approval?
If elected, what specific steps will you take to move this project forward now?
James Dougall's answer
I wasn't on council when these decisions were made, but I would have voted to start building the school at the Banting site. The funding has been available since 2021 while construction costs keep climbing, and I don't see what the community gained from the delay — our kids are still waiting. If elected, I'll vote to push this project forward and use every tool council has to get it moving: prioritize the town's approvals, keep the pressure on the school board, and make sure nothing on our side holds it back. We've waited far too long.
