According to The Observer, the Lambton Kent District School Board has hired Chatham architect, ROA Studio Inc. to design a new kindergarten through Grade 12 school in Forest. This is the first K to 12 school for the school board.
The new school will hold between 1,000 to 1,100 students and will take the place of North Lambton Secondary School including the nearby Kinwood, Alerarder and Bosanquet public elementary schools. This is the board's way of dealing with fewer students, empty classrooms and declining funding.
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The Lambton Kent District School Board which was also known as English language Public District School Board No. 10 prior to 1999, is the school board responsible for public education in Lambton County and Kent County. These two counties consist of a lot of small towns and communities in Southwestern Ontario, a geographic area that is surrounded by the Great Lakes.
According to The Observer, the design of the new school will take anywhere from 6 to 8 months to complete. Most K to 12 schools have different sections of the building for common areas which include the gym, cafeteria, library and learning areas. ROA Studio will prepare the tender documents as soon as the design is set.
"Tendering is expected to happen next winter with a ground breaking in the spring of 2019." "It has been a while for something of this magnitude so that's where all the excitement is, in the community and with us too".
The school board's Superintendent of Business, Brian McKay
The Chatham Company's fee, 3.95 per cent of the budget, was the lowest bid among eight firms that submitted proposals. The location of the school has not yet been determined. Ontario Ministry of Education approvals will be necessary all through the building process. The Ministry gave its approval for the $27.4 million school which doesn't include the price of the land.
