No school coming to old Stouffville high school location anytime soon

The site of the former Stouffville District Secondary School has been vacant since 2007

Yorkregion.com
June 6, 2022
Simon Martin

The old Stouffville District Secondary School site on Edward Street has been officially closed and vacant since 2007. And it looks like it will remain empty for a few more years.

In 2020, it was announced that a new public French immersion school would be coming to the site on Edward Street next to the track and the Stouffville Arena. But the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) has reconsidered the location of the new school.

YRDSB spokesperson Licinio Miguelo said funding was announced in October 2020 for a new elementary school with a capacity of 638 students in Stouffville.

“The former Stouffville District Secondary School was considered for the school location, but after additional program analysis, it was determined to locate the new school in an area of new development in the north west area of Stouffville,” he said in an email.

The new site is located on the northwest corner of Harjones Avenue and Baker Hill Boulevard. According to Miguelo, the school is planned to open in September 2024 as a single-track French Immersion school. The French Immersion program is currently held at Harry Bowes Public School for grades 1-3 and Glad Park Public School for grades 4-8. The board also has an additional elementary school site designation to serve future growth in Stouffville and is working with the municipality to secure an additional elementary school site in the new Highway 48 community where significant development has been proposed, Miguelo added.

The change of tune from the board has left Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton scratching his head, as a prime location in the centre of town has sat empty for 15 years with no end in site. “I have no idea what they are doing with it,” he said. “The property is worth millions.”

Located a stone's throw from the Main Street GO station, Upton said the old school site should be a location for something.

The town is in the midst of its plan to open up Edward Street from Main Street through to Millard. It currently dead ends at the old Stouffville District Secondary School site. Upton said detail design work is happening this year on the road project with construction slated in 2023.

The total estimated cost of the project was $3.8 million in 2020.

The new road would incorporate a three-metre multi-use path on the east side of the road and 1.5-metre sidewalk on the west side of the road for its entire length. The design work is also considering traffic-calming measures where appropriate.

Upton said the extension would provide better access to the GO train parking lot located on Edward Street for people coming from Millard. He also added the Edward Street extension would help alleviate traffic problems during Main Street reconstruction.

While the old Stouffville High School site remains empty, there is a new catholic high school being built just south of Bethesda Road off of Ninth Line. Chair of the York Catholic District School Board and local trustee Elizabeth Crowe said the new school, St. Katharine Drexel, is set to open for grades 7 to 10 in September 2023.

Crowe also said the board is recommending the school offer French Immersion for grades 7 to 12. “This is great news especially since St. Katherine Drexel’s sister elementary school, Blessed Chiara Badano, will be a single-track French Immersion school from grades 1 to 6,” Crowe said.

The school received capital funding in 2016, but numerous delays occurred before construction, pushing the original opening date back three years. The school lands were appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, a process that took several years to resolve.

The multi-use facility will consist of a secondary school, an elementary school and a child-care centre. It will hold up to 1,200 students and provide child-care space.