The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is revamping its long-term accommodation plan to reflect a "critical and urgent" need to accommodate surging enrolment in two existing Cambridge schools and one yet to be built.
School board trustees will meet next week to discuss the changing business cases the WCDSB is putting together to ask the province for funding to get shovels in the ground on expansions at Monsignor Doyle and St. Gregory.
Overcapacity pressures at St. Gabriel CES and new residential development has also led board planners to increase its student population forecast for a new north Cambridge school to serve the River Mill development in Hespeler.
An enrolment imbalance between St. Benedict and Monsignor Doyle high schools means plans to build a three storey, 16 classroom addition at Doyle are coming together quickly
It's needed to reduce pressures that are expected to get worse as the city's south-end population surges over the next decade.
The board says Cambridge has about 24,000 unbuilt residential units with more than 11,500 of those units planned for the Monsignor Doyle boundary and more than 12,600 units in the St. Benedict boundary.
During the last school year, eight portables were required at Monsignor Doyle and the same portable count is expected in 24/25. At St. Benedict, 12 portables were required last year and 15 portables are required in 24/25.
The board says Monsignor Doyle has the second smallest capacity of any of its high schools with room for only 1,095 students.
In order to rebalance enrolment, it says it needs to add 368 pupil places to ensure it's positioned to accommodate future growth from within its boundary and future boundary adjustments between the two Catholic high schools.
The need for increasing student capacity at Doyle also takes into account students coming from the soon-to-be-built joint-use, kindergarten to Grade 8 campus on Wesley Boulevard next to the city's recreation complex.
That campus, expected to be open for business in 2027, will accommodate about 350 Catholic elementary students.
Monsignor Doyle was originally constructed in 1991, with additions in 1994 and 2005.
Any addition would happen on the building’s south side to accommodate additional classrooms, staff work spaces and washroom facilities.
Staff believe the placement of the addition on the south end of the building would "preserve the function of the school’s practice and playfields with limited implications for other areas, including the ability to still accommodate portables or additional parking."
At St. Gregory, the board wants money from the province to add five classrooms, one kindergarten classroom and complete renovations previously outlined for the Ministry of Education in 2021 and 2023.
The proposed addition to the west Galt elementary school would add 107 pupil places for a total capacity of 349.
The move would also address overcapacity issues at nearby St. Augustine CES.
St. Gregory is only utilizing 58 per cent of its available space now but by creating more spaces, board planners would be able to change the boundaries and alleviate overcrowding at St. Augustine.
Historic overcrowding at St. Gregory led to a boundary revision five years ago that resulted in declining enrolment, the board says.
St. Augustine saw its student population soar to 485 students last year, which is 137 per cent of capacity.
Nine portables will be needed this year to accommodate the surging number of students which the board says will continue to grow since there are more than 1,800 unbuilt residential units within the St. Augustine boundary.
Pressure from surging Catholic student populations in Hespeler meanwhile, are expected to be addressed by a new north Cambridge elementary school when it gets built in the River Mill subdivision sometime over the next few years.
The board has asked the province to fund the school with 527 pupil spaces to provide relief to St. Gabriel, which is accommodating the student surge with eight portables this year.
The board had previously requested 412 pupil places for the new school but new residential development in the area has forced planners to change the request.
In addition to already approved developments, a new secondary plan area to the west is projected to accommodate approximately 5,000 people.
The board also anticipates the planned conversion of the Cambridge SmartCentre property into a 10,000-unit residential and commercial development will have a significant impact on enrolment in its Hespeler schools.