SPRINGHILL, N.S. — The provincial government remains committed to building and opening a new elementary school in Springhill in 2021.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Zach Churchill told the Amherst News on Friday 2021 is still the target for the new school to replace two aging schools, despite the department’s capital plan that suggested a day earlier construction was being pushed back two years to 2023-24.
“I know this is an important and an emotional issue in that community, but I want to be very clear in that we’re committed to building that school as quickly as possible,” Churchill said. “We still believe that if everything goes smoothly that we’ll be able to have it built in 2021. That’s not to say complications can’t happen along the way, but I want to assure the community that we’re fully committed to this.”
On Thursday, Churchill was in Bedford to announce 12 new school projects at a total cost of $85 million over five years as part of the province’s capital plan. The plan included a new high school in Bedford as well as renovations to create skilled trade centres.
Buried in the details, however, was a line about the proposed new elementary school stating its planned opening was during the 2023-24 school year.
This came a month after Churchill told the Amherst News and Cumberland South MLA Tory Rushton that his goal is to have a new school in place by September 2021. The minister admitted to being surprised to hear of the anger in Springhill following the release of the capital plan and reached out to Rushton to explain the situation and re-affirm his commitment to build a new school before that date.
During the 2018 by-election that saw Progressive Conservative Tory Rushton replace former PC leader and Cumberland South MLA Jamie Baillie, the provincial Liberal government ended years of speculation and announced a new elementary school would be built to replace two aging facilities in Junction Road Elementary and West End-Memorial Elementary.
Both schools have long been a source of frustration for parents, students and staff because of leaking roofs and other building issues.
The project hit a bit of a snag earlier this year when it was determined the preferred site, next to the Dr. Carson & Marion Murray Community Centre, had to be discarded due to concerns over former mine workings underneath.
Churchill said Transportation and Infrastructure is looking at multiple pieces of land in and around the community and geotechnical work will be taking place over the next month. Once another preferred site is determined, the province will enter into negotiations with the private landowner and the process will continue.
“The site the community wanted next to the (Dr. Carson & Marion Murray) centre, would have been ideal but it was impossible for geological reasons, so we’re looking at a number private land options right now,” Churchill said. “That’s not to say there won’t still be some technical issues and we won’t have complications in terms of negotiating a purchase agreement. There could be weather or construction issues, but we still think if everything goes smoothly we can hit 2021 and that’s what we’re driving toward.”
The minister understands the apprehension in the community but said the new school will be built and he wants it completed before the date in the capital plan – a date he said is a buffer put in place by Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.
“It’s going to be built. The NDP committed to building a school and it didn’t happen, but we will build it and I’m committed to getting up there in the next few weeks and bringing some technical staff with me to talk to the principal, members of the school advisory council, representatives of the municipality and the provincial representative,” he said.
For his part, Rushton said he can’t help but be skeptical because the school has been promised on numerous occasions by two governments, but ground has to yet to be broken.
“I appreciate the fact he admitted some things went wrong with the dates of the capital plan for the new school, but let’s face the facts. They’ve been promising a new school since 2010 and it has been taken away twice by this sitting government,” Rushton said. “It was announced again in 2018 and still today we don’t have an actual site selected. I look forward to the minister coming with me to Springhill and telling the people of Springhill that he’s still committed to 2021.”
Rushton said he doesn’t want to play politics with the school and suggest the delays are a result of the Progressive Conservatives being in opposition since 2009.
“If he’s truly committed to 2021 we should see shovels in the ground by late spring 2020,” Rushton said. “The people of Springhill simply want to see a date and they want to see shovels in the ground. They want action.”
He’s also concerned there has been no public consultation with the site selection process and Rushton believes there has been plenty of time to talk to the community and maintain communication.
Meanwhile, he said, students and staff are still enduring tough conditions in both schools. He said a letter has gone home with students at West End-Memorial saying they are being provided with bottled drinking water because of the presence of lead in the water at the school.
