N.B. school closures raise questions

The closure of two high schools in New Brunswick in the past two weeks is raising questions about the condition of schools across the province.

New Brunswick's auditor general concluded in a 2005 report the provincial government had not provided adequate funding to maintain schools in good repair.

The 26-page report concluded the Department of Education did not have adequate systems and practices in place to ensure that schools were appropriately maintained.

"Decision makers and the public have not been provided with adequate information on how well government is doing at achieving its goals relating to building maintenance," the auditor general's report said.

"Information is lacking regarding the amounts of deferred maintenance and the risks associated with it."

The auditor general noted the province has 336 schools, housing roughly 125,000 students and staff. The auditor general estimated the replacement cost of the schools to be $2.3 billion.

The report says a number of minor repairs were not being addressed in a timely fashion.

It showed that in 2004-2005, School District 2 in Moncton got $1.2 million for capital repairs but the auditor general said the districted actually required $35 million for capital repairs.

Across the province, the 2005 report said $12.9 million was spent on school maintenance costs but $214 million needed to be spent on necessary capital repairs.

It also noted that the Department of Education lacked acceptable standards for building conditions, with some schools needing significantly more repair than others.

Closed schools

The safety of the province's schools was thrust into the spotlight after schools in Campbellton and Moncton had to be shut down, forcing districts to shuffle students to other schools to finish the rest of the academic year.

Staff and students at École Polyvalente Roland-Pépin in Campbellton were told on Wednesday that the school could be closed for the rest of the year.

School district officials are looking for space to accommodate the nearly 500 high school students.

A district official said on Thursday it is believed the school's contractor, who built the high school 40 years ago, is likely to blame for the school's closure this week.

The Campbellton closure came a week after Moncton High School was also closed for the year. The high school was closed as education officials studied the health and safety concerns at the 75-year-old building.

The 1,300 students at Moncton's largest high school are now being spread out to other city schools, including Edith Cavell School. That will force some current Edith Cavell students to attend Queen Elizabeth School instead.

However, parents of students at Edith Cavell worry the school district does not have the best interests of students at heart.

Parent John Patterson doubts Moncton High will be fixed in the eight month timeline that has been promised.

He worries the longer students are bussed out of the neighbourhood, the less likely they are to return.

"It seems to me having everybody in one school will appear to be more cost effective," he said.

"They may not be brave enough to close Edith Cavell down, but once the kids are out they can say, 'Well, you know, we can't really move them back now.'"

If Edith Cavell closes, Patterson said, there will no longer be any elementary schools in the downtown.

He said that will drive families away and put an end to any attempts by the city to revive Moncton's downtown core.

Limited response

In 2009, the auditor general's office did a follow-up on the 22 recommendations contained in its 2005 report.

The independent office found that only nine of the proposed recommendations had been implemented and five had been partially acted on.

The Department of Education told CBC News on Thursday that each district, identifies its priorities each year for the provincial budget and lists its major projects, such as new schools.

The districts also submit their maintenance and repair project lists, both are then reviewed by the department.

The department said ultimately, the provincial cabinet decides what projects get the go ahead in the yearly budget.