The government of Nova Scotia announced Thursday it would be purchasing two of nine public-private partnership (P3) schools in the province in July 2018, when their leases expire.
The province will spend $3.95 million to purchase O’Connell Drive Elementary in Porters Lake and and $8.95 to purchase Riverside Education Centre in Milford.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia defers decision on costly P3 schools to October
The announcement comes just three days before the July 31 deadline that was set for the province to indicate to Nova Learning whether it planned to surrender or extend the leases on the schools.
Both the Halifax Regional School Board (HRSB) and the Chignecto Central Regional School Board (CCRSB) have identified the two schools as ones that “need to stay open to meet the educational needs of students living in the surrounding communities.”
“In these two cases, purchasing is more affordable than extending the leases and will provide a long-term solution to providing schools for the area,” Education Minister Karen Casey said in a release.
The province projects buying the schools rather than extending the leases will save them about $20 million.
The government says they will “continue to negotiate with the best interest of students, families and tax payers in mind” what to do with seven other Nova Learning schools which lease expiration dates range from July 2017 to August 2018.
In total, 39 of the province’s schools are P3 schools. HRSB said in February it wanted the province to purchase the 10 schools that fell within its jurisdiction.