Members of the Anglophone East District Educational Council learned more last night about the chosen location of future west end school.
Director of Educational Facilities for the Department of Education Tony Weber explained the option to build on the Bessborough property was turned down because there isn’t enough room.
“We try to build schools now that allow for if there’s growth in the area, to put portables beside it or build an extension if necessary in order to accommodate growth. We are looking at that right now for a school in Riverview for example, where we are looking at an extension on a school we recently built. This school if we were to build it, would not have capacity on that site.” Weber says.
The Hillcrest site was also considered, but Weber said there is less room there than there is at Bessborough.
Another option was on Millenium Blvd, but it was not approved due to the cost of the land and also concerns over possible contamination on the CN Rail site.
Weber says the school will be built next to Bernice MacNaughton High School on St. George Boulevard.
“The Bernice MacNaughton site, met the acreage requirement, it was accessible and it had a line coming there right now. Centralization was not great but it was not outside the catchments area. Ease of construction, it is a good construction site with services available, and complimentary land use, because there is already a school there,” Weber says.
He adds that there were many consultations, and officials from the Department of Transportation, Education and from the District walked all four sites, “There was numerous discussions with the district on this and the options and the pros and cons. There were discussions with the city. I personally spoke to Bill Budd, the City planner back in June.”
There were many questions from parents regarding the chosen site for a future west end school.
In one question, President for the Hillcrest Parent School Support Committee James Upham was unclear as to whether other site options were still being considered.
Weber confirmed, “To clarify, the Minister has made his decision, this is it. This is where the school construction is going and this is what the planning group is working with right now the Architect right now in order to fit this in there.”
PSSC President for Bessborough Dale Hughes asked whether a school location decision has ever been reconsidered.
Weber responded, “It’s been looked at in detail, drilled down. We’ve worked with the District, we’ve worked with the municipality in order to come up with a site that is going to meet the long term views of what is required.”
He also stated if they had to go with another, Millenium Boulevard would be their next choice.
The PSSC Presidents also wondered what will happen to Hillcrest and Bessborough Schools once the new facility is built.
“Typically, because it is in a high value area, they would be offered for sale as they are. If there is no interest in buying the land as it is, every construction budget we put together now as common practice has money in it for demolition,” Weber says.
He added they will work with the City to do a traffic flow study. When asked whether a bridge over St. George might be added, he said it wasn’t in the plans, and stated a traffic study would need to be done first.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy attended the Anglophone East District Education Council meeting last night via Zoom, but had to depart early due to other commitments.
“Anytime you build a new school, there is always some level of controversy, especially in a case like this, when you talk about two communities coming together around a new school. The hope is, once we get through this we will have a great new school,” Cardy says.
Construction on the new west end K to 8 school is expected to begin in 2022.
