Cookie-cutter schoolhouses? Not for us?

The design of the new high school planned for Sault Ste. Marie will likely be very similar to schools planned in many other places across Ontario, says Algoma District School Board Director of Education Mario Turco.

"Will it be the same colour? Will it be exactly the same shape? Not necessarily," Turco said.

"Will it have the same kinds of components? Will the science labs be the same? Will the gymnasiums be the same dimensions and so on? will the hallways be the same? The answer to that is yes."

Turco said the differences will be largely cosmetic and reflective of the school's projected enrolment numbers.

"One school may need more classrooms than another," he said. "One may be two or even three stories while another may be only one."

Turco was responding to questions and concerns raised by board chair Wanda McQueen at a board meeting last night.

McQueen is worried that a plan to form a construction consortia among the boards will delay construction of new schools planned for the Sault and take away opportunity for local input into what those schools will look like and what facilities they will have.

If the board goes along with a Ministry of Education plan to form a construction consortium with other Northern boards, the new high school and elementary schools scheduled to be built in Sault Ste. Marie over the next three to five years will not be exactly like schools being built in southern Ontario now.

But there will be common elements, Turco said.

The Algoma board believes it may cost more to build a school in the North that's similar in facilities and quality to those being built in the South.

And the Ministry of Education may have some problems with that.

Superintendent of Business Bob Backstrom said recently that the ministry invited representatives of the Algoma District School Board and two other northern boards to meet with Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Education.

"They thought they could help us get more school for the same dollars up in Northern Ontario," Backstrom said.

At last night's meeting, Backstrom said hat the meeting with Infrastructure Ontario took place in Toronto on March 18 and he believes the plan warrants serious consideration.

"The ministry is concerned with the state of education infrastructure in Ontario, as apparent in today's budget," said Turco. "But they're not going to give us a blank cheque."

Turco told trustees that no one in the Ministry of Education is going to tell them what to do.

But he warned that the school board will have a hard time getting more money out of the ministry to cover its costs if it chooses not to participate in the construction consortium.

McQueen agreed there was much more to learn about the proposed consortium and Turco said plans were in motion to bring Infrastructure Ontario and Ministry of Education representatives to the board to answer its questions.

If this board joins with either or both the other invited boards, this consortium will be the first of its kind, a pilot project for the province to learn from, said Backstrom.