The Avon Maitland District School Board has received funding to help build a new childcare addition at one of its schools.
Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae announced on Tuesday that the province provided a scope change and approval to tender the child care addition at Listowel Eastdale Public School. The addition, which will bring three new childcare rooms, 98 pupil spaces, and 49 licensed childcare spaces will be supported by an additional $2.1 million from the province, which brings the total funding to over $6.4 million.
The investment from the province is part of the provincial government's commitment to providing $14 billion to support school construction, repair, and renewal over the next decade.
“This is an important announcement for Listowel, surrounding communities, and the many young families that reside here,” Rae said. “It is investments like these that make our rural communities both more affordable and attractive for families.”
“Our government is investing $14 billion over ten years to build new schools, improve existing facilities and create child care spaces to ensure young people can reach their full potential," said Minister of Education Stephen Lecce. “By building the new state-of-the-art child care centre at Listowel Eastdale Public School, as well as investing in tutoring and mental health supports for the year ahead, we are getting students back on track now and well into the future. While we make progress building this child care centre at Listowel Eastdale Public School to support hard-working parents, we remain committed to keeping students in more normal classrooms with extra curriculars, sports, and clubs.”
“We are thrilled to engage in this multi-sector partnership that enables us all to support the families that we serve,” said AMDSB Director of Education Dr. Lisa Walsh. “This additional funding from the Province of Ontario will support our project to reduce space pressures at Listowel Eastdale and improve access to child care for Listowel families and we are grateful for this support.”