Nova Scotia’s Liberal government intends to build nine new schools, renovate four others and purchase two more P3 schools as part of a new five-year school capital plan.
The total cost is estimated at $300 million.
The Halifax region will get four new schools under the plan – including a francophone school on the Halifax peninsula, one of three new schools to be built for the province’s Acadian school board.
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The plan also includes a new elementary school for Springhill and two new schools in Cape Breton-Victoria.
Education Minister Zach Churchill said Monday’s announcement is in response to recommendations by Nova Scotia’s auditor general and education consultant Avis Glaze, who called for more multi-year planning.
“I think it also responds to what we hear pretty consistently from communities in that they want to know what’s happening on a longer term basis when it comes to schools and our plans,” said Churchill.
Education Department officials said none of the proposed schools currently have design plans or sites selected. Site selection is to begin this year for three schools, next year for four more, and in 2020 for the remaining two new builds.
Critics noted the timing of the Springhill school announcement – a provincial byelection is pending in the local riding of Cumberland South, and the community had been asking for a new school for the past decade.
“This list is based on the needs of these communities,” Churchill said. “The criteria is conditions, enrolment and programming pressure so that’s why every single one of these schools is on this list.”
The new school list includes:
– Glace Bay area elementary school
– Northside middle school
– Springhill elementary
– Bedford Ravines, Primary to Grade 9
– Clayton Park-Fairview junior high
– Eastern Shore district high school
– Wedgeport area school
– Clare area school
– Halifax peninsula school
New major renovations are also slated for Breton Education Centre in New Waterford, Ferrisview Elementary in North Sydney, St. Joseph’s A. MacKay Elementary School in Halifax, and Ecole acadienne de Pomquet.
Churchill said the province has also decided to purchase two public-private partnership schools in Sydney – Harbourside Elementary School and Sherwood Park Education Centre – which had previously been slated for closure.
“In this particular case, pre-primary class caps had a direct impact on space availability in those catchment areas. Also the enrolment figures changed as well, so the decline that was anticipated hasn’t happened.”
The government has now purchased all 39 of the province’s P3 schools – facilities built and managed by developers for the province – at a total cost of around $228 million, officials said.
The new plan comes just weeks after the government passed legislation abolishing the province’s seven English language school boards, which in the past had a say in terms of listing their priorities for new schools and school closures.
Churchill defended the new planning process as transparent and said the list is based on priorities from regional education centres, which were formerly the school board administrative offices. He said the new schools were also top priorities for the former boards.
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The minister added that the province had whittled more than 30 requests for new schools and renovations down to 13, based on its ability to pay.
Progressive Conservative education critic Tim Halman expressed doubts about whether politics have been taken out of the school selection process, pointing to the timing of the Springhill school as an example.
Halman said more comprehensive planning should be done over an even longer-term of eight to 10 years.
NDP critic Claudia Chender said she still has concerns about transparency around a process that had been formerly handled by school boards.
She said Churchill’s announcement lacked specifics.
“We’re told that there are criteria … but we don’t see how that criteria is ranked, we don’t see the recommendations that are going to come forward and we ultimately don’t have any understanding into the decision making process,” said Chender.
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