The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is getting an extra $5 million to increase the size and capacity of a new school to be built on Powerline Road.
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The extra funding brings the budget for the new school – named St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School – to $50.7 million from the original $45.7 million. It will enable the Catholic board to give more students the education they need to be successful after graduating high school, Rick Petrella, the chair of the Catholic District School Board, said.
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“We went through the usual process in terms of identifying the need for a new school and we’re grateful when the province gave us the go-ahead,” Petrella said. “But we started doing some further analysis and quickly realized that, if possible, we needed to be able to increase the capacity of the school.
“Everything about this school is about the future and we want to make sure we’re able to accommodate the needs of students in 2026 when the school opens.”
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Ministry of Education officials agreed with the plan and came up with the additional funding.
Both of the Catholic school board’s current secondary schools in Brantford – St. John’s College and Assumption College School – are already well above capacity, Petrella said.
Under the new plan, the school will increase in size to about 165,000-square-feet from the original 150,000-square-feet. It will be able to accommodate about 1,300 students, up from 1,100.
The extra funding also means more technology labs such as those for computer technology and robots.
The school will also have increased capacity for trades programs including masonry, electrical, plumbing and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
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“This will enable us to expand our course offerings and better prepare our students for the jobs of the future,” Petrella said. “We want our students to be ready to work when they finish high school.
“We’ve spoken a great deal about the school’s focus on the skilled trades but it will also have the full academic stream for those who are university-bound.”
St. Padre Pio will be a school for everyone, Petrella said.
The school will have a 128-space child care facility, an eight-lane track, a full sports field and amenities as well as a triple gymnasium and weight room.
St. Padre Pio will be the first new secondary school to be built in Brantford since Assumption College opened more than 30 years ago. Site preparation for the new school begins in April and construction is slated to begin in the summer. Plans call for the construction to be completed by the summer of 2026 with the school opening in September 2026.
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Petrella said the new school will become the ‘flag-ship’ school for the Catholic board. He praised Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma and Mayor Kevin Davis for their efforts in moving the project forward.
Bouma worked to get the original plan approved and advocated to get the additional funding, Petrella said.
City officials, led by Davis, have done everything possible to help move the plans forward enabling the school board to adopt an ambitious timeline, Petrella said.
Plans for the new school including drawings and the construction timeline were unveiled at a Friday press conference held to announce the additional funding for the project.
“This (additional) funding for St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School is great news for our community,” Bouma said. “This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
Bouma said the extra funding will help create three technology classrooms and three regular classroom spaces. The school and the extra funding is the result of partnerships.
“Community partnerships are important,” Bouma said. “You really can’t move forward on projects like this without them.”
The school will help address the severe shortage of skilled trades workers in the community Bouma said.
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