Expect to see construction crews around four local elementary schools this summer.

Credit Meadows and Montgomery Village Public Schools in Orangeville and Hyland Heights and Centennial Hylands Elementary Schools in Shelburne are expanding to accommodate more classrooms.

The project is part of the provincial government's continuing plan to reduce classroom sizes in kindergarten through Grade 3 to 20 or fewer students.

Bob Borden, chair of the Upper Grand District School Board, said the work at the local schools is part of a board project that includes 22 different schools.

"Each of the projects is costing about $550,000, so that's $2 million being spent in Dufferin," Mr. Borden said.

It's planned that three of the schools will be expanded by two classrooms and Centennial Hylands is scheduled to have four new classrooms.

Dana Anderson, Shelburne's town planner, said the projects' site plans are approved and the next phase calls for the contractor to get the building permits before construction begins.

Ms. Anderson said the Hyland Heights project includes a onestory extension at the rear of the school and a corridor that will connect existing portables to the main building.

Centennial Hylands Elementary School is scheduled to have two additions. One project is an extension for the gymnasium and a second extension will accommodate more classrooms.

Montgomery Village, which opened its doors in 2003, will be under construction for the second time since its completion. The school expanded by one classroom last year to accommodate a junior kindergarten class.

According to Heidi Murray, a planner for Orangeville, the site plans are being reviewed and the project for the two Orangeville schools is close to being approved.

Other construction for the Upper Grand District School Board this year included a large project at Mono Amaranth Public School (MAPS) that closed the building for the school year and moved the students to the building once known as Springbrook Public School, on Century Drive.

Jeff DeFreitas, principal at MAPS, said they will be moving back into the building in time for September's return to school.

The project included an expansion of the gymnasium and enhancements to the change room and storage area. Other work included improvements in the main office area, new flooring, ceilings, lighting and cupboards throughout the school where needed, a new computer lab accommodated in an existing classroom, which freed up space in the library, which in turn was expanded - all within the existing structure.

When MAPS vacates old Springbrook it will become part of the French-language Conseil scolaire de district du Centre- Sud-Ouest (CSDCSO), which reported last month that it intends to open its doors for students in Orangeville in September 2008.