A unanimous vote with the recommendation to build a new school in the North End of Moncton at last night’s District Education Council meeting.
A report prepared by Ernst and Young detailed all the options for tackling the overcrowding issue.
The top choice was building a new school, either from K-8 or just Grades 6 to 8.
Jocelyn Keech is the Chair of the Parent School Support Committee for Northrop Frye.
“I think it’s something that a lot of parents have been hoping for,” says Keech. “Both schools are crowded, they’re at capacity and there’s nowhere for the kids to go.”
She says the report showed several other options, including adding an extension to Northrop Frye.
However, an extension doesn’t solve all the overcrowding issues.
“Even when people were talking about building an extension, it still doesn’t add anything more than classrooms,” says Keech. “It adds to the congestion around the school, it adds to not having enough gym time, not having enough music time.”
DEC Chair Tamara Nichol says they have to weigh the pros and cons of both options.
“We’re inviting the public to offer their feedback because we know parents definitely have an opinion about that, and District Education Council members all have an opinion about that, and we want to take all of that into consideration before we make our final decision.”
Nichol says you can find a copy of the report and a chance to offer your feedback on the Anglophone East School District website – click HERE.
Public comments will be closed October 9th, to give the DEC members time to review the comments before their next meeting on October 13th.
