A task force championing a new K-8 school in Saint John’s central peninsula says there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Gary Lawson said they were a bit disappointed to learn no money had been set aside for the project in the 2021-22 provincial capital budget released last week.
But Lawson, who chairs the Central Peninsula Community Hub School Task Force, said they have been told to expect good news when the 2022-23 capital budget is announced next year.
“What we’re being told is that we will be announced as part of the capital budget next year,” Lawson said in a phone interview. “We don’t have anything in writing but that’s our understanding.”
According to a news release from Develop Saint John, the project is at the top of the list of five projects government placed in a “pre-approved funding queue” designed to allow communities to start planning.
“This project will have a transformational impact on the community as a whole, effectively positioning Uptown as a magnet for young families, and creating more equity in the education system for children living in poverty,” Steve Carson, the CEO of Develop Saint John, said in a news release.
The Anglophone South School District Education Council recommended a new school to replace St. John the Baptist/King Edward and Prince Charles schools in 2017 and made the project its number one priority.
But year after year, the project has not been included in the capital budget released by the Department of Education.
Lawson said they have already done some of the legwork, such as creating a preliminary design for the project, in anticipation of funding approval.
“We’ve consulted with a substantial number of community groups to get their advice about what should be within the school structure and the community hub structure,” he said.
The next step, said Lawson, is to meet with provincial officials to begin land acquisition and detailed design work. He said the group has some suggestions for a potential location, but it will be up to the government to make the final decision.
Lawson said the project has received lots of support from within the community and at the government level.
“It’s something a little different than just what I’ll call a school,” he said. “It is a community centre with a learning hub attached to it and that concept I think the government, at least the Department of Education, has indicated they think it’s an excellent model.”
Lawson said they hope to have shovels in the ground in 2022.
