The addition will take approximately 18 months to build. Photo credit: Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School
Although Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School on the east mountain was only recently opened in 2012, it is already set to receive an expansion due to the school’s ballooning student population.
The Government of Ontario announced last week that they will be providing an $8.4-million grant to build an addition onto the school to help with overcrowding. The expansion will provide room for an extra 253 students.
However, even when the addition is operational Bishop Ryan will continue to need to use portables. The school has capacity for 1,455 students but has an official enrollment of approximately 2,200. That means that even when the expansion is complete, approximately 500 student spaces will still need to be accounted for by portable classrooms. The school is currently operating with 12 portables.
Another issue is that the Catholic school board has projected that the enrollment at Bishop Ryan will continue to grow, spurred by population growth in the area, to 2,564 by 2030. With the school already having overcrowding issues, the board will need to prioritize building yet another new Catholic high school facility. If the enrollment projections hold true, by 2030 Bishop Ryan will accommodate a utilization rate of 176 per cent.
Nevertheless, the 253-student expansion will go a long way in helping to mitigate the current issues the school is facing.
Flamborough-Glanbrook Progressive Conservative (PC) MPP Donna Skelly said that the funding for the addition is “great news” that “will provide choice and flexibility and new opportunities for families.”
Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said that in building schools and childcare spaces the government is building hope and opportunity. He also noted that new facilities will increase student safety due to modern ventilation systems.
“We believe that students deserve to learn in-person in state-of-the-art facilities that are internet connected, accessible, with modern ventilation systems,” said Lecce.
“Our government is delivering a major investment that accelerates construction to get it done for parents, students, and communities.”
Overall, the Ontario government has announced $500 million dollars of funding towards 37 school-related projects which include 23 childcare centres, 15,700 new student spaces, and 1,502 licensed childcare spaces across Ontario.
Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Kevin Geenen reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He is a regular contributor with The Hamilton Independent and has also been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, Niagara Independent, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. He is known for Hamilton crime updates and social media news graphics. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal from Governor General David Johnston. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. In March 2022, Kevin started working as an Office Administrator at RE/MAX. Kevin’s journalism work continues to be independent of his other jobs.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
