Funding denied for new combined Lansdowne, Queen Elizabeth elementary school

The Rainbow District School Board has put its plan to closeLansdownePublic School on hold, after the Ministry of Education denied itsapplication for funding to build a new combined school.

In February, the English public school board in Sudbury, Ont., approved a recommendation tocloseLansdowne,and consolidate the classes with with Queen Elizabeth II Public School.

The board had wanted to build a new English and French Immersion elementary school on the Queen Elizabeth site.

On Monday, the ministry announced that the board would receive $23 million towards infrastructure projects. However, the new combined Lansdowne andQueen Elizabeth school was not one of them.

• Province investing $23M in Sudbury English public schools

The funding will instead go towards building a new French Immersion elementary school and renovating four other school buildings.

"We had a number of sites that we were evaluating, and obviously the ministry didn't see a need for us to have those dollars available to us, at this time," saidNormBlaseg, the director of education for the school board.

Ministry asked board to consider other solution

Ministry spokesperson Heather Irwin said in a statement that applications for funding are evaluated based on a number of criteria, including cost-effectiveness and the impact on reducing operating costs.

"The school board was asked to consider other alternative solutions due to the high cost of the school board's submission," Irwin said.

Following an accommodation review, Lansdownewas one of eightschools the Rainbow Board proposed to close over the next two years. The closureswere intended to save the school board $2.2 million annually, by reducing surplus space.

• 'My kids are really disappointed': 8 schools to shut down in Sudbury area
• Sudbury mother 'heartbroken'LansdowneSchool may close

BlasegsaidLansdowneand Queen Elizabeth will both remain open while the school board reapplies for funding in September.

'It's frustrating'

RebeccaCoughlin's twin daughtersHloseandSophiaattend Lansdowne.She said the proposed closure has been hard on her children and it will be even harder with the fate of the school still up in the air.

"It's frustrating because it's really difficult for the kids. They get really upset. And so this now adds a bit of uncertainty again," Coughlinsaid.

"Constantly dealing with that unknown is going to be difficult."