Higgs hints 2 closed schools will be repaired

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs is hinting that two closed schools in Moncton and Campbellton will be fixed despite the stingy capital budget that was released on Tuesday.

The Progressive Conservative government's capital budget provided for $592.9-million worth of projects compared to the $940.4 million spent in 2010-11.

The capital budget released a broad outline of what the provincial government will spend on roads and buildings next year and more concrete details of upcoming projects are normally announced by cabinet ministers in their budgetary estimates later.

Both Moncton High School and Polyvalente Roland-Pépin were shut down earlier this fall because of structural problems and people in those cities were watching the budget closely to see if their schools would be fixed.

While Higgs did not address the two schools specifically in his speech, he told reporters the capital budget does include money to fix schools that are considered emergencies.

"You know we've inherited some emergency situations, and you're well aware of those," Higgs told reporters.

"We will deal with those appropriately because we know we have responsibilities there, and so the emergencies that have identified, you'll certainly see those being looked after."

In Campbellton, Roland-Pépin needs major renovations.

A consultant has suggested tearing down and rebuilding most of Moncton High School, while preserving its historic facade.

Liberal MLA Donald Arseneault said parents deserve straight answers and not subtle hints from the finance minister.

"They're leaving a lot of people in limbo and that's quite concerning," Arseneault said. Individual ministers will lay out details of capital spending in their departments in the coming days.

Cautious optimism

The finance minister's comments are being greeted by cautious optimism by the District Education Council in Moncton.

Harry Doyle, the DEC chairman, said he was in Fredericton recently explaining why a new school is needed.

"I'm very happy to hear that, I met with the minister a week or so ago and we gave him a very specific letter as to what our priorities were," Doyle said.

Doyle said if a developer builds a private school and then rents it back to the province the cost can be spread out over 25 years.

"The last two schools that were built in District 2 were built on a [public-private partnership] program, which doesn't mean there has to be a lot of money up front," he said.

Karen Branscombe, the district superintendent, said the capital budget announcement shows the provincial government is taking the issue seriously.

However, both Doyle and Branscombe say they have no idea whether the provincial government wants to build a new school, hire someone to design plans for a future school or simply renovate Moncton High to allow it to be used for a few more years.