Parents upset by delay in opening of new Stittsville high school

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The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s much-anticipated new high school in Stittsville, Maplewood Secondary, will not be ready for the new school year.

In an emailed update to parents issued late Wednesday afternoon, school board superintendent A.J. Keene said that although the contractor, Tambro Construction Ltd., continues to insist the school will be ready for Sept. 3, the board has decided to trigger its contingency plan.

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“Based on the design team’s review, the number of outstanding safety issues strongly suggest that the building will likely fail the formal occupancy inspection this week,” Keene told parents.

Under the board’s contingency plan, Grade 7 and 8 students will be temporarily moved to the former D.A. Moodie Intermediate School in Bells Corners, while Grade 9 students will attend online classes.

Ottawa Student Transportation Authority buses will be available to take students to D.A. Moodie, he said. To accommodate busing schedules, classes there will run from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and stress this may cause and appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to prevent further disruptions, and prioritize the safety of our students and staff,” Keene said. “We are hopeful this contingency plan will be in effect for a minimal period of time as occupancy appears very close.”

Stittsville parent Shannon Trick said she doesn’t understand why it took so long for a firm answer about where Maplewood students will start the school year. Maplewood Secondary is supposed to play host this year to students in Grades 7, 8 and 9.

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“It’s so, so frustrating as a parent,” Trick said. “My son is going into Grade 9: This is his first foray into high school…As parents and stakeholders, we should have had answers a long time ago.”

Photographs taken at the school by parent Ryan Hodgson last weekend show the first floor of the building remained an active construction zone. “Like most parents, I’m disappointed in what I saw,” said Hodgson, whose son is entering Grade 8.

Hodgson said he was not surprised by Wednesday afternoon’s announcement. “I feel for the parents of Grade 9 students who are going to start virtually,” he added, “because we all know how well that went during COVID and how no one wants to repeat that.”

The wait for a public high school in Stittsville has been a long one. Decades of lobbying by local parents and politicians finally came to fruition in January 2018 when the province announced it would invest $37 million in a new Stittsville high school.

The new school, located at the corner of Robert Grant Avenue and Cope Drive, was originally scheduled to open in September 2023.

But the pandemic’s supply chain issues and construction labour shortages delayed the project. The completion date was pushed to the spring of 2024, but that timeline also proved overly optimistic.

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One of the fastest-growing suburbs in Ottawa, Stittsville now has more than 52,000 residents. Until now, its public high school students had to bus to Richmond to attend the aging South Carleton High School, built in 1952.

Students who didn’t want to make the trip to Richmond could opt for the local Catholic high school, Sacred Heart, which now has more than 1,100 students in Grades 9 through 12 and almost 600 students in Grades 7 and 8.

When it is fully operational, Maplewood will be home to more than 1,300 students from Grades 7 to 12.

Andrew Duffy is a National Newspaper Award-winning reporter and long-form feature writer based in Ottawa. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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