AMHERST - The two site selections for the new West Highlands School will be sent to the province this coming week.
Carolyn Pierce, communications manager for Chignecto-Central Regional School Board, said the board will be sending off the two sites - one of Harold Lusby and the other of Roymac - for assessment.
"It could take several months," said Pierce, in regards to how long it could take before the board hears back from the province on the sites they've recommended.
"It depends, because they do assessments as well that are more in depth than we do."
Glenn Friel, Department of Education communications officer, said the average assessment time for a site selection is three to four months.
"It depends on the weather conditions. In your area, at this time, summer is optimal," said Friel.
Friel said the site selection process, when it comes to the province, goes through to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal for a technical evaluation of each site proposed.
The evaluation includes cost of acquisition and development, environmental - such as natural wetlands, contaminated soil, site services - power, water, sewer and access to the school, terrain, traffic issues and what's around the site - including other buildings, streets, among others.
Once the evaluation is done, the department submits its recommendation on the most appropriate site, if there is one, to the Department of Education.
From there, the education minister decides if a site can be purchased.
.jpg){kind=small}
