Construction delays are forcing the Northeastern Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) to make alternate plans for students of their newest school.

Pope Francis Elementary—currently the St. Paul School location on Balsam North (pictured)—is undergoing an expansion and retrofit to accommodate around 300 students from Kindergarten to Grade 4.  But those students will be studying at the Sacred Heart School location for 2017-18 school year.

NCDSB Superintendent Tricia Weltz says it’s simply not safe to have students at the school while construction is ongoing.

Construction is set to begin in July once the school year is over, and isn’t expected to wrap up until well into the school year.

One of the delays that wasn’t anticipated has to do with the addition of a sprinkler system throughout the building, since they are adding enough square-footage.

Pope Francis Elementary is a combination of St. Paul and Sacred Heart students, who are being placed together after the school board underwent an Accommodations Review.

Grade 5 and 6 students from these schools are moving up to O’Gorman Intermediate Catholic School for 2017-18 as planned.

Filed under: Local News