Council vote affirms homestead as site for Banting rebuild 

Posted December 17, 2024

 

New Tecumseth council stuck at 5-3 last night in favour of declaring 25 acres on the south portion of the Banting Homestead property as surplus for the purpose of disposition to the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) to rebuild Banting Memorial High School.

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​For: Mayor Richard Norcross, ward councillors Wendy Gabrek, Paul Foster, Alan Masters, and Andrea Jacks. Opposed: Deputy Mayor Stephanie MacLellan, ward councillors Nicole Cox and Shira Harrison McIntyre. Ward councillors Chris Rapin and Marc Biss declared conflicts of interest.

 

The Town and the Board now switch to negotiating the sale of the 25 acres, which, in a public report on the issue, one of the options on the table includes a land swap.

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Since 2015, replacing the now 75-year-old Banting high school, has been the Board's top capital priority project. Since 2016, the focus has been to build the replacement school on the homestead. In November 2021, the Ministry of Education approved $41.5 million in funding for a 1,288 pupil place replacement school.

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