Dispute over a new high school in south Barrie to head to the OMB

CTV Barrie: New school dispute The dispute over the location of a new Barrie high school could last even longer. Rob Cooper explains why.

More delays are on the way for a proposed high school in south Barrie, as a dispute over where the facility should be built heads to the Ontario Municipal Board.

The Simcoe County District School Board said on Tuesday they will be submitting a request to the OMB.

The board claims they were told a decision would be made on their site plan at last night’s general committee meeting in Barrie, but became frustrated when the topic didn’t come up.

“If the site plan wasn't approved on the 16 of May, the board had directed staff to proceed to the OMB,” says SCDSB chair Peter Beacock.

The city is adamant that site plan discussions were not scheduled for Monday, nor was it on the agenda. Councillors were set to discuss the plan at their meeting on June 6.

“I think we are a little disappointed that we were expecting it to be on the agenda for last night and that they would make a decision one way or the other so that we could move forward,” says Beacock.

The board wants to build the school on the south side of a lot on Mapleview Drive and Prince William Way. The city however wants the building erected on the north side of the lot.

Both sides have been at an impasse for the last several months.

“We were told by the board that they would submit a revised site plan with a building on the corner that's the compromise we need to get this approved,” says Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman. “If the board will go a little way here, the city has gone a fair distance to find a compromise.”

Lehman says going to the OMB will only draw out the process even longer.

“The OMB is a terrible solution. Everybody gets to spend money on lawyers, we all get to wait many more months and the parents and the students suffer.”

The SCDSB says it will get in touch with the OMB to get the ball rolling on a hearing.

The city and board thought they could get the school built by the fall of 2018, but an OMB hearing will likely extend the delay.