WRDSB says Elizabeth Ziegler Public School will reopen in 2027

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WRDSB says Elizabeth Ziegler Public School will reopen in 2027

New date set for Elizabeth Ziegler Public School reopening

The Waterloo Region District School Board has finally set a date for the reopening of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School.

The Moore Avenue building closed in March due to structural concerns and, once it was announced the school would not reopen before the summer break, students were moved into portables on the property or transferred to other schools.

• TIMELINE: Closure of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School

The Waterloo Region District School Board released the results of its structural engineering assessment of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School on June 11.

It detailed the extensive repairs needed within the building to address cracks, corrosion and deterioration of building materials.

“In our first communications, we really didn’t have any idea about the scope of work, we didn’t know what was going to be involved in the rehabilitation and restoration of the building,” Bill Lemon, director of business services with the Waterloo Region District School Board, told CTV News on Monday.

The school board said the proposed work would extend the life of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School, improve future maintenance and ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors.

But it will not be an easy fix.

“There is a procurement process that we have to undertake to secure a general contractor. We’re engaged in that process right now, and there are some steps that we have to go through, some things that have been set out by the historic committee of the City of Waterloo. We need some specific contractors to do some of this work,” Lemon explained

The school board is hoping to have a contractor secured and a contract signed by winter.

“Prequalifying those contractors who are capable of doing the work is a step in the process, but from talking with our facilities’ staff we feel that we can undertake that process quite quickly. There are some individual contractors that would be capable of doing this work. We think we’re going to get that short list quite quickly. There are additional costs. Labour is the greatest cost in any of these projects, quite often. That restoration work is often labour intensive,” he said.

No details have been shared about the cost of the project.

According to the school board’s FAQ regarding the work being done at the school, the school board has been in touch with the Ministry of Education to discuss funding options, but no formal arrangement has been announced.

“The Board of Trustees for the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) recently approved the 2025-26 budget, with a capital budget of just under $90 million. Capital funding supports the construction of new schools, additions and school renewal projects,” the FAQ states.

Lemon said when the work is being done, modern additions will be added to improve accessibility at the school.

“We’re going to be installing an elevator and a couple of what are called ‘lifts,’ to make sure all the parts of the school are accessible,” he said. “We’re going to be updating the electrical and HVAC systems, just as a matter of bringing everything up to code. We’re also going to see, as part of this building and the new building code, we’re also going to be upgrading the core part of the building so it can be part of our inventory for many, many years to come.”

In a July post on the school’s website, the Waterloo Region District School Board said Elizabeth Ziegler Public School was expected to reopen in September 2027.

Some parents are feeling trepidation as the new school year approaches.

“Our son ended up staying at Elizabeth Ziegler in portables,” parent Pamela Hurvid said. “It was not too bad of a transition for him, but we’re not necessarily looking forward to the transition to Sandowne this year.”

Lemon said the current plan is to have students who would have attended Elizabeth Ziegler continue to go to Sandowne until the restoration work is completed.

“It really is a lot of transition that we weren’t looking for him to have in his elementary experience,” Hurvid said.

Lemon thanked parents for their patience and thanked the community for their collaborative spirit.

“I hope they see that we’ve taken their concerns seriously and we’ve taken this opportunity to build back Elizabeth Ziegler in a way that maintains its historic characteristics, but modernizes some of the finishes on the inside,” Lemon said.