Cramped conditions at Bishop Reding high school in Milton are likely to continue until at least December, due to a delay getting provincial approval to build a much-needed addition.

The overcapacity population at the school — where a field full of portables is housing 43 classrooms — has led to a “dire situation” where students are “squished together,” says Marvin Duarte, a Milton trustee with the Halton Catholic District School Board. On a recent tour, he saw students eating their lunches in a repurposed auditorium and on the school steps. “The density of kids . . . is of great concern to me.”

About 2,000 students attend the school.

The board submitted its final document related to the project, a third-party cost estimate, to the province in September or October, said facility management superintendent Ryan Merrick.

In the past, the Ministry of Education has issued approval to begin construction about four weeks later.

“Maybe it could take six weeks for a more complicated one,” Merrick said.

Now, several months later, the board has received no information on the reason for the delay or when it might come through.

“We have no reason to believe they’re going to cancel it, but it’s suspicious it’s taking this long,” Merrick said.

He says he meets regularly with a group of school board facilities managers from across the province, and many of them are reporting similar delays.

“As far as I know, it’s sitting at the minister’s office, waiting for final approval.”

Construction on the $18-million, 609-student addition was approved by the previous Liberal government a year ago. Phase 1 of the new section will include 29 classrooms, a new cafeteria and a child-care centre, followed by the construction of a new gymnasium — the school’s fourth. Before the unexpected delay, the board planned to complete Phase 1 by August, and the new gym a year later.

The Ministry of Education did not respond to a request to explain the delay, and Milton MPP Parm Gill blamed the delay on the Liberal government.

“Since assuming office, I have worked with the Ministry of Education to ensure sufficient funds were allocated for the addition at Bishop Reding and will ensure it will be completed as quickly as possible,” he said in an emailed statement.

Milton trustees Duarte and Patrick Murphy say they’ve requested to meet with Gill to discuss the issue, but no date has been set. Murphy told the Milton Canadian Champion that Gill staffer Evan Holt reached out to the ministry on their behalf and was told the money was allotted, but the government is reviewing projects to make sure it is spending wisely.

“What we’re trying to impress upon government officials is there’s an urgency here,” said Murphy. “We understand they’re . . . trying to reduce the deficit. The reality for us in Milton is that the school is at 203 per cent capacity. Quite a few families are moving into our region every day. There’s a sense of urgency that maybe the government is not aware of.”

The crowded hallways at Bishop Reding are emblematic of an issue faced across the region: in many newer areas, home building is outpacing school construction. A third Catholic high school is planned for Milton; where Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School is using 26 portables to house an overflow of students. The Halton District School Board is waiting on final approval to start building a new high school in southwest Milton, as well.

Ward 1 regional Coun. Colin Best says there are more than 250 portables in use in Milton with the public and Catholic schools put together.

In Oakville, Ward 7 town Coun. Jasvinder Sandhu has called the lack of “adequate schooling and funding from the province” in the town’s northern reaches a “crisis situation.” There are currently 18 portables at Oodenawi Public School on Sixteen Mile Drive, with a new Oakville northwest public elementary school waiting on provincial approval to begin construction.

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When asked recently whether the province had a solution on the horizon, Oakville North Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos told the Oakville Beaver the government “looks forward to sharing an update on the status of capital projects in the region in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Milton trustee Duarte says he’s looking at other ways to temporarily relieve the conditions at Bishop Reding.

“Maybe we can ask for some help from the municipal government to see if there’s some facilities we could temporarily utilize until we have money in place to get the construction done,” he said. “The principal is doing a great job keeping things together. (The staff are) stressed, but they’re doing the best they can do.”