Catholic Central funding, relocation delayed a year

The relocation of Catholic Central High School has hit another snag.

The Ontario general election means the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board will not get funding approved for the new school any time soon.

Instead, the board will have to re-apply for the money - again.

• Windsor Arena to be replaced by Catholic school

"We have submitted the construction of a new Catholic Central as our number one priority in each of the last two years," the board's executive superintendent of corporate services, Mario Iatonna, wrote in an email to CBC Windsor. "The Ministry of Education has not provided funding pursuant to either of these two submissions."

Iatonna wrote that funding announcements "are typically not made during provincial elections."

"So, we will be submitting Catholic Central again as our number one priority for funding when the ministry requests submissions for next year, likely in October," he wrote.

Catholic Central is currently located near the busy intersection of Howard Avenue and Tecumseh Road.

It was built in 1929, and can no longer house today's student population, the board says.

The City of Windsor offered the Windsor Arena site and surrounding properties to the school board for $1 last year.

Members of the central Windsor community support a recommendation to build a new Catholic Central high school on the former Windsor Arena property.

Barb Holland, the chairperson of the school board, said in April that the Ministry of Education is "generally supportive" of the plan.

As another option, the board has also proposed merged Catholic Central with Brennan high school.