GUELPH – The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has approved a calendar and staffing for the 2021-22 school year as well as a funding request for a new elementary school in Fergus.
At its April 27 meeting the board approved a staff recommendation that a business case be submitted to the Ministry of Education for funding for a new elementary school in north Fergus to accommodate enrolment demand.
On March 24, the ministry invited school boards to submit proposals for their most urgent capital priorities, which need to be completed by the 2024-25 school year.
The board initially submitted a funding request for a new elementary school in Centre Wellington in 2019, but the proposal was not approved at that time.
In this round of the Capital Priorities Program, a business case for a new 308-pupil elementary school in north Fergus will be resubmitted.
Staffing
Also at the April 27 meeting, UGDSB trustees approved staff recommendations regarding preliminary elementary and secondary school staffing for the 2021-22 school year based on projected enrolment and system needs.
Preliminary allocations for elementary teaching staff will be set at 1392.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers and secondary teaching staff will be set at 728.83 FTE teachers for the 2021-22 school year.
School schedule
The 2021-22 UGDSB school year schedule was also approved on April 27 .
The draft schedule proposes:
- students start the year on Sept. 7;
- winter break will run from Dec. 17 to Jan. 3;
- March Break will be March 11 to 18; and
- the last day of school will fall on June 27 for secondary students and June 29 for elementary students.
The draft calendars will now be submitted to the Ministry of Education for final approval and will be available for review on the board website under “School Year Calendars.”
The Wellington Catholic District School Board will be submitting a similar calendar to the Ministry for approval.
The next UGDSB meeting will be held on May 25. Meeting details will be posted online.
