Norton Elementary students to start school year in Sussex because of damage to building

Children at Norton Elementary School will not be returning to the building when school resumes in less than two weeks.

A letter to families indicated that water damage in the building was discovered and repairs would be required before the school could be used.

The letter explained that students would be moving to Sussex Elementary until the repairs could be completed.

CBC News was not allowed to interview the school principal or the Anglophone South School District superintendent. District spokesperson Jessica Hanlon provided some written information instead.

Hanlon said the water damage was discovered during preparation for re-siding the exterior of some of the building walls. 

"We became aware the school would not be ready for start-up on August 13 and immediately began planning an alternative," said Hanlon in the email. "Our primary goal was to keep all students together in a school nearby."

She said there are about 100 students at Norton Elementary and 450 at Sussex Elementary.

But she said Sussex has a maximum capacity of 701, which allows room for the Norton students.

She said that although the two schools will be sharing a building, their classes will not be combined and Norton students will remain with their classmates and regular teachers.

Hanlon said bus pick-up times for Norton students will likely not change, and those who typically walk to school will be bused to Sussex. She said transportation time will depend on where the child lives. Children on the Bloomfield side of Norton would have a longer commute than those on the Apohaqui side. 

She said engineers are assessing the scope of work at Norton so an estimated cost of repairs and timeline could not be provided.