Video · Waterloo · Waterloo Collegiate Institute
Waterloo Collegiate Institute is one of the least accessible schools in our public board. The board’s own table says about 17% of its rooms are accessible, and of the 122 schools in it, WCI is the only one with no barrier-free washroom.
In 2018 the board’s plan said the accessibility work was deferred pending a study on rebuilding the school. Since 2021, every capital list it has published calls the rebuild ineligible. Here’s the record, the report I’d ask for, and the sources.
The written version
A WCI parent asked me to look into the school. This is what I found, in writing, with every number sourced.
The board publishes an accessibility table for 122 of its schools, last updated May 4, 2026. It says about 17% of Waterloo Collegiate’s rooms are accessible, and lists no elevator, stair lift, chair lift or power-operated doors. Only one school in the table, Sheppard PS, is lower on rooms. And of the 122, WCI is the only one whose barrier-free washroom is listed as Not Available.[1]
WCI has washrooms. The school’s own notice for its 2023 play told visitors they’re “down a half-flight of stairs”, and this March it told parents “some WCI classrooms can only be reached by stairs.”[2][3]
None of this is new to the board. Its 2018 accommodation plan said WCI had “significant deficiencies in accessibility”, and that the work was “deferred pending outcome of the WCI/Northdale Community Hub Study”: a study, with Laurier and the City, of rebuilding the school.[4][5]
The board sent the rebuild to Queen’s Park in 2019, 7th of 9 projects, and it wasn’t funded.[8][10] Since then, each of the four capital priorities lists the board has published, from 2021 to 2024, gives WCI’s rebuild the same line: “Does not meet criteria; ineligible project.” Each report says only that its listed projects missed the criteria “due to category or timing limitations”. None says which criterion WCI misses.[15]
Meanwhile, the board’s 2020–2030 plan says WCI’s accessibility investments “may be achieved through a facility rebuild”.[11] The plan points to a rebuild that the board’s own lists call ineligible.
The board has put four years of renovations into WCI, including a new barrier-free ramp at the front door.[16] Its table still lists no barrier-free washroom.[1] In June 2026, staff told trustees the building would need about three or four elevators, because it’s built on split levels.[17]
Paying for a rebuild is Queen’s Park’s call.[19] Asking for the answers in public is a trustee’s: what keeps WCI’s rebuild ineligible, what it would take to send it again, why four years of renovations didn’t add a barrier-free washroom, and when the work that doesn’t have to wait will be done.
The table
The board’s Accessibility Status by School page lists each school’s features. This is its Barrier-Free Washroom column, and its rooms-accessible figure for the high schools.[1]
One square for each of the 122 schools in the board’s table, updated May 4, 2026, in the table’s own order.
Sunnyside Sr PS and Willow River PS list a barrier-free washroom as Not Required and a universal washroom as Available. Waterloo CI is the only school listed as Not Available, which the table’s legend defines as “This accessibility feature is not available at this location.”[1]
| School | Barrier-free washroom | Universal washroom |
|---|---|---|
| Sunnyside Sr PS | Not Required | Available |
| Willow River PS | Not Required | Available |
| Waterloo CI | Not Available | Not Required |
The 16 secondary schools in the same table. WCI is at 17%; every other one is at 86% or higher.[1]
The board’s “Approximate % of Rooms Accessible”, as listed. Across all 122 schools, only Sheppard PS (0%) is lower than WCI, and Sheppard lists a barrier-free washroom as Available. WCI’s row: built 1959; elevator, stair lift, chair lift, barrier-free washroom and power-operated doors all Not Available; barrier-free parking Available.
It has washrooms. The school’s notice for its November 2023 play: “WCI has limited accessibility. There is an asphalt ramp to the front door. Washrooms are down a half-flight of stairs.”[2] Its notice for this March’s Meet the Teacher night: “Please note: some WCI classrooms can only be reached by stairs.”[3]
The record
Ten years of WCI in the board’s own documents, in order.
2016Study, then a 5–4 vote in 2017
A feasibility study, funded by the City of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the Ministry, pictured a Northdale community hub that “includes a renewed Waterloo Collegiate Institute”.[5] Trustees agreed it was “too early to commit to this project”, concerned about its estimated cost and how much the board could contribute.[6] In February 2017 they voted 5–4, on the chair’s tie-breaking vote, to keep working on it.[7]
2018Accommodation plan, March 19
“Waterloo CI - identified as requiring upgrades for accessibility as part of the accessibility plan. Work deferred pending outcome of the WCI/Northdale Community Hub Study.”[4]
2019Submitted September 30, 2019
The board asked for a 1,308-place replacement school, under the category Facility Condition, and put the benchmark cost of replacing WCI at $35.6M.[8][9] It wasn’t funded. In May 2021, staff reported that the three projects submitted in 2019 and left unfunded weren’t recommended for submission in 2021.[10]
2021Accommodation plan, adopted June 21
“Waterloo CI has been identified for future accessibility investments which may be achieved through a facility rebuild.”[11]
2021–24Four capital lists
2026June
The board’s June 9 update: four years of renovations at WCI, with new windows, updated corridors, air conditioning on the upper third level and a new barrier-free ramp.[16] On June 8, staff told a board committee the building would need about three or four elevators.[17]
2026September 28
The board’s list of potential partnership projects, carried over from its 2020–2030 plan, still includes “S05 Proposed Waterloo Collegiate Institute Rebuild project through WCI/Northdale Feasibility Study Project”. It’s a planning list, not a funding request.[18]
What the record doesn’t show. No document I found shows Queen’s Park turning WCI down by name, or anyone cancelling the project. The 2019 request went unfunded. Since 2021 the board’s own staff have screened it out of each list they brought to trustees, and it’s still on the board’s planning list.
Four lists
Before each provincial funding round, board staff list the projects they considered and didn’t send. These are board staff’s words, not a ruling by the province.
WCI’s row in Appendix B of every capital priorities report the board has published since 2021.
Each report prints the Ministry’s categories, then says its listed projects “did not meet the submission criteria … due to category or timing limitations.” None says which applies to WCI. “2024-235” is as printed. The same line sits beside Lexington PS’s rebuild (see my Lexington video). The board hasn’t published its 2025–26 or 2026–27 lists.[10][12][14][15]
The board’s plan · June 2021
“Waterloo CI has been identified for future accessibility investments which may be achieved through a facility rebuild.”
The board’s lists · 2021 to 2024
“S05 Facility rebuild at Waterloo CI and partnership with WLU & City of Waterloo. Does not meet criteria; ineligible project for 2023-24”
The building
The board has put real work into WCI. Its own table, a month earlier, still listed no barrier-free washroom and no elevator.
The board’s June 2026 update
“Designed for Student Success: June Facility Highlight”, June 9, 2026.[16]
The board’s table, May 4, 2026
Accessibility Status by School.[1]
Board staff · Business Services Standing Committee · June 8, 2026
“WCI does not have an elevator and I think because of the way that it’s built at a split level, it would be difficult to make it fully accessible.”
It would need “about three or four elevators”.
What it would cost. A consultant’s report the board published in 2020 said WCI “does not meet the AODA standards for an accessible Ontario”, and put the cost of making the site accessible at approximately $8.0M. That estimate is from 2018 or earlier.[21]
How a rebuild gets funded
The plan waits on a rebuild.
The list calls it ineligible.
Ontario school boards rely on the province to pay for new schools, additions and rebuilds. In the province’s words, Capital Priorities “is the prime means of funding new schools (built or acquired), additions or major renovations.”[19]
Paying for a rebuild is Queen’s Park’s call. Deciding what to send, and saying why a project is left off, is the board’s.
What I’d do as trustee
I’m Brian Best, running for public school trustee in Waterloo and Wilmot. If I’m elected, this is the public report I’ll ask staff for.
Which of the Ministry’s criteria WCI’s rebuild misses, and what it would take to send it to Queen’s Park again.
Why four years of renovations didn’t add a barrier-free washroom: one you can reach without stairs.
A date for the accessibility work that doesn’t have to wait for a rebuild, so it stops getting kicked down the line.
A trustee can ask for a report, move a motion and vote. The board decides what to submit, and the province decides what to fund. Every one of our schools should be usable by anyone in our community.
Strings and the auditorium
WCI is one of three high schools with the board’s Instrumental Strings program, with Eastwood and Grand River.[20]
Northdale Phase 2 report · September 2018
“The WCI Vision Committee has made a fervent plea to find a way to renovate and retain the auditorium.”
“The Ministry’s funding model does not account for the construction of auditoriums in high schools.”
What I said, and what the report says. In the video I said the Ministry isn’t going to help rebuild the auditorium unless there’s a partnership with someone like the City or the university. The report is more specific. Since the Ministry’s model doesn’t pay to build one, it looked at keeping the old auditorium: with part of a new school’s gym budget if that’s permitted, with a heritage grant, or by joining it to the Northdale “Commons” with other funders, such as foundations. It doesn’t name the City or Laurier as funders for the auditorium.[21]
A rebuild shouldn’t take away programs our students have now. No record I found says what would happen to the strings program in a rebuild.
Transcript
Two minutes and 29 seconds, lightly edited for punctuation.
Waterloo Collegiate is one of the least accessible schools in our board. The board’s own accessibility status table says only about 17% of its rooms are accessible. And of the 122 schools on that table, it’s the only one with no barrier-free washroom. Now, it has washrooms, but the school’s own website warns visitors they’re down a half-flight of stairs.
In 2018, the board’s plan said WCI had significant deficiencies in accessibility, and that the work was deferred, waiting on a study rebuilding it with Laurier and the City. The board sent the rebuild to Queen’s Park in 2019, the seventh of nine projects, and it wasn’t funded. Every capital priorities list the board has published since 2021 calls it “Does not meet criteria, ineligible project.” And none of them say which criteria it misses. So the board’s plan says an accessible WCI may come through a rebuild, and its own list calls the rebuild ineligible. Make it make sense.
The board has spent four years renovating WCI, and it added a new barrier-free ramp at the front door, but its table still lists no barrier-free washroom. This June, staff told trustees the building would need about three or four elevators because it’s built on split levels.
Paying for a rebuild is Queen’s Park’s call. So if I’m elected, I’ll ask staff for a public report on what keeps WCI’s rebuild ineligible, what it would take to send it again, and why four years of renovations did not add a washroom that you can reach without stairs. And I’d want a date on accessibility work that doesn’t have to wait, so it stops getting kicked down the line.
WCI is one of three high schools with the board’s instrumental strings program. The rebuild study says the Ministry’s funding model does not pay to build auditoriums in high schools. So essentially what that means is the Ministry is not going to help rebuild the auditorium unless we get a partnership with someone else, like the City or the university. Every one of our schools should be usable by anyone in our community. And the rebuild should not be taking away programs that are currently accessible to our students.
I share the frustration of the WCI parent who asked me to take a look at this. The more I research about the school, the more I keep scratching my head. So if your family’s at WCI, tell me in the comments: should the board rebuild it, or fix the building that we’ve got?
I’m Brian Best. I’m running for school board trustee in Waterloo and Wilmot. The vote is on Monday, or today, depending on when you’re watching this.
“17%” and “122 schools” are from the board’s Accessibility Status by School table, updated May 4, 2026. “The board’s plan” in 2018 is its 2017–2027 accommodation plan; the plan that says “may come through a rebuild” is the 2020–2030 one, whose words are “may be achieved through a facility rebuild”. The auditorium line is explained above, beside what the report says. The numbers are sourced above.
Sources and method
WRDSB, Accessibility Status by School
The board’s table of 122 schools, page updated May 4, 2026. Waterloo CI: built 1959, approximately 17% of rooms accessible, and Not Available for elevator, stair lift, chair lift, barrier-free washroom and power-operated doors. In the Barrier-Free Washroom column, 119 schools are Available, 2 are Not Required (each lists a universal washroom), and 1, WCI, is Not Available. The table’s legend defines Not Available as “This accessibility feature is not available at this location.”
The school’s notice for its play: “WCI has limited accessibility. There is an asphalt ramp to the front door. Washrooms are down a half-flight of stairs.”
Waterloo Collegiate Institute, Semester 2 Meet the Teacher Night, March 4, 2026
“Please note: some WCI classrooms can only be reached by stairs.”
WRDSB, 2017–2027 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Committee of the Whole, March 19, 2018
PDF page 113: “Waterloo CI - identified as requiring upgrades for accessibility as part of the accessibility plan. Work deferred pending outcome of the WCI/Northdale Community Hub Study.” and “Waterloo Collegiate Institute was identified as having significant deficiencies in accessibility. This information led to the school being considered as a rebuild candidate through partnership opportunities.”
Staff report: the study ran from February 1 to August 31, 2016, and “was funded through contributions made by the City of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Ministry of Education”. The hub it pictured “includes a renewed Waterloo Collegiate Institute”.
WRDSB, Committee of the Whole minutes, September 12, 2016
PDF page 3, on the feasibility study: “Trustees agreed that it was too early to commit to this project as they were concerned about the estimated cost of this project and how much funding the Board would be able to contribute.”
WRDSB, Committee of the Whole minutes, February 13, 2017
PDF pages 3–4: trustees voted to keep working on the study’s short- and medium-term objectives, carried 5–4, with the chair voting “to break a tie vote”.
WRDSB, 2019 Capital Priorities Program Submission, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2019
Appendix A, PDF page 10: project 7 of 9, “Waterloo CI Partnership Rebuild”, category Facility Condition, 300 Hazel St, approximately 1,300 pupil places.
WRDSB, Board meeting, February 24, 2020: staff report on the Northdale Neighbourhood Partnership
PDF page 10: “The WRDSB submitted a Capital Priority business case for a 1308 pupil place replacement school on the WCI campus on September 30, 2019”, and “The total benchmark cost for replacing WCI is $35.6M.”
WRDSB, Capital Priorities report, Committee of the Whole, May 10, 2021
Three projects submitted in 2019 that were unfunded “are not recommended for submission in 2021” (PDF page 24). Appendix B, PDF page 31: “S05 Facility rebuild at Waterloo CI and partnership with WLU & City of Waterloo”, “Does not meet criteria; ineligible project for 2021/22”, submitted in 2019: Yes. PDF page 30: the listed projects “did not meet the submission criteria … due to category or timing limitations.”
WRDSB, 2020–2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan (adopted June 21, 2021)
PDF page 102: “Waterloo CI has been identified for future accessibility investments which may be achieved through a facility rebuild.” The board hasn’t published a newer plan.
WRDSB, Capital Priorities report, Board meeting, February 28, 2022
Appendix B, PDF page 21: “Does not meet criteria; ineligible project for 2022-23.” PDF page 20: “category or timing limitations.”
WRDSB, Committee of the Whole minutes, September 19, 2022
Asked about the Northdale Neighbourhood Partnership, a superintendent “indicated that the project is stalled until funding is approved.”
WRDSB, Capital Priorities report, Committee of the Whole, October 16, 2023
Appendix B, PDF page 19: “Does not meet criteria; ineligible project for 2023-24.” PDF page 17: “category or timing limitations.”
WRDSB, Capital Priorities report, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2024
Appendix B, PDF page 52: “Does not meet criteria; ineligible project for 2024-235” (the board’s typo). PDF page 50: the projects “did not meet the submission criteria for the 2024-25 Capital Priorities Grant Program due to category or timing limitations.” This is the newest list the board has published.
WRDSB, “Designed for Student Success: June Facility Highlight”, June 9, 2026
WCI “has undergone extensive renovations over the last four years”: more than half the corridors updated, new windows, air conditioning on the upper third level, and “a new barrier-free ramp to the front entrance”.
WRDSB, Business Services Standing Committee, June 8, 2026 (video)
At about 57:36, staff answering a trustee: “WCI does not have an elevator and I think because of the way that it’s built at a split level, it would be difficult to make it fully accessible”, and that it would need “about three or four elevators”. Transcribed from the board’s recording; the board keeps meeting videos online for about a year.
WRDSB, Board meeting, September 28, 2026
Community Planning and Facility Partnership report, Appendix A, “Potential Partnership Opportunities in the 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan”, PDF page 85: “S05 Proposed Waterloo Collegiate Institute Rebuild project through WCI/Northdale Feasibility Study Project”. A planning list, not a funding request. The “2028” in the file name is the board’s typo.
Ontario, Education Capital Policies and Programs Manual, May 2026
Page 11: “Capital Priorities is the prime means of funding new schools (built or acquired), additions or major renovations.”
WRDSB, Instrumental Strings Program
Offered at Eastwood Collegiate Institute, Grand River Collegiate Institute and Waterloo Collegiate Institute.
A consultant’s report the board published. PDF page 25: “The WCI Vision Committee has made a fervent plea to find a way to renovate and retain the auditorium.” PDF page 37: WCI “does not meet the AODA standards for an accessible Ontario which is required by 2025. Estimates to make the site accessible are approximately $8.0M.” PDF page 38: “The Ministry’s funding model does not account for the construction of auditoriums in high schools”; the auditorium “may be retained and retrofitted”, with part of a new school’s gym budget if that’s permitted, with a heritage grant, or by joining it to the Northdale “Commons” with other funders such as foundations. If it goes to the Commons, “the high school will likely have some combination of gymnatorium or cafetorium.”
If something here is wrong or out of date, email brian@best4schoolboard.com and I will correct it.
Last updated October 26, 2026
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