Ottawa-Orléans MPP Phil McNeely announced the Ottawa Catholic School Board will receive $5.5 million to improve school accommodations at St. Matthew High School and Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School.

The money will be used to provide school accommodations that are more student-friendly and energy efficient, a news release from McNeely’s office states.

The money is part of a $550 million investment that was announced in April to improve Ontario’s publicly-funded schools and make them better places in which to learn and grow. Projects under the investment include building new schools, expanding

existing school facilities and reconfiguring school space to reduce energy costs.

Parents at St. Matthew have been fighting for an addition to the school for years, which has 22 portable classrooms.

Meanwhile, the school council at Lester B. Pearson has requested that a 14 classroom addition be built to replace the 15 portables at the school.

Calling the recent announcement “very positive,” Ottawa-Orléans Catholic school board trustee Stephen Blais couldn’t specify how the funding would be utilized since details are still being worked out.

However, he noted the $5.5 million is less than the amount requested. The board asked for $3.5 million per school, or $7 million in total, he said.

While specifics were not immediately available, Blais indicated the money will be used to “alleviate challenges.”