Parents 'hopeful but skeptical' after news Waterloo's Elizabeth Ziegler will be shuttered for 2 years

CBC

2 days ago

Parents are concerned after news Elizabeth Ziegler Public School (EZPS) in Waterloo will remain closed for at least two years.
The updated reopening date of the school is now set for September 2027, according to an update posted the school's website on July 22.
Previously, messaging from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) was that the expected reopening would be in September 2026.
EZPS parent Ian McDonald said the extension wasn't much of a surprise.
"I am hopeful but skeptical it will be ready by September '27," he said in an email to CBC News.
"My daughter is entering Grade 4 at Sandowne, and is unlikely to see Ziegler again before she graduates to MacGregor Senior Public School," he added.
The nearly 100-year-old school building was originally shut on March 4 when a large piece of concrete fell from the facade. The closure was, at first, for just two days, then two weeks, and then it was announced it would be closed for the rest of the school year and into the next.
Of the over 500 students at EZPS, some will be relocated to portables but most will attend other schools in September, like Sandowne Public School.
Sandowne's enrolment in the 2023-2024 school year was about 240 students. The influx will bring that school's student population up into the high 600s, according to the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB).
"I also have concerns about two full school years of not just overcrowded, but I mean like more than double capacity," said Dave Earle, whose two children attended Elizabeth Ziegler before the closure.
"We're going to have to deal with two big moves," Earle said. "One to Sandowne and if they're there for two years then they'll have made friends … and they'll have to break all those to come back."
Earle is concerned the increased student population at Sandowne will result in less time for things his kids find important.
"Last year when we finished the school just in portables, they had no library time, they had no assemblies," he said, "It was just whatever they could do outdoors."
But Bill Lemon, WRDSB's director of business services, says they've built portable infrastructure for Sandowne to accommodate the number of students who will be attending next school year.
Sandowne's website also says, "the building and property have the capacity to support more than 700 students. This includes the outdoor space for nutrition breaks and athletics, the building's washrooms, plumbing and electrical capacity."
Lemon said the decision to extend the closure another year comes after the board received its detailed engineering and architectural report back in June.
"We got some clarity with the engineer's report and with the schematic drawings," Lemon told CBC News.
"Based on the work that was needed for the restoration, we now had some concrete tasks that needed to be completed. With the work, alongside our architect and our own facility services people, we were able to build a construction timeline," he said.
The revised timeline means construction is now expected to begin in early 2026 and finish in the summer of 2027, Lemon said. That would leave a short window for the board to prepare the school for students before the start of the fall term.
Lemon said the size of this project classifies it as a capital project and that the board approached the ministry of education for next steps and funding opportunities. Lemon said the conversation was "productive" but the ministry did not commit any additional funding for the restoration.
Instead, the board plans to cover the costs from its own capital budget over the next two years, a move Lemon says could mean adjusting other school board projects across the region.
The building's heritage designation is also adding to the complexity. Lemon said some features, like the masonry work, need to be restored to look original, which requires special contractors. Pre-qualification for those contractors is already underway, said Lemon, and the board hopes to begin tendering those early this fall.
The board says it will provide regular updates as the project moves through design, tendering and construction.