Moncton needs a new school in city's north end, report says
Jennifer Choi | CBC News | Posted: October 1, 2015 10:44 AM | Last Updated: October 1, 2015
Ernst & Young report recommends new school is the solution to overcrowding in Moncton's north end
The Anglophone East School District Education Council voted unanimously to build a new school in Moncton's growing north end at a public meeting on Wednesday night.
The long-term plan will ease the overcrowding situation at Northrop Frye and Evergreen Park School.
Tamara Nichol, the chair of the district education council, said initially the council had asked the provincial government to build an extension at Northrop Frye School.
"The Department of Education said, 'We don't think that is the best plan,'" said Nichol.
"But what we're going to do is have you get a study done and we'll find out what the best option is."
The provincial government hired Ernst & Young to find a solution to fixing the overcrowding issue.
The report looked into four options: build an addition to Northrop Frye, alter district boundaries, reconfigure grades from Northrop Frye and Evergreen Park School to make space for students and build a new school.
I think that we all thought that we would all change some boundaries and everything would be better. And clearly that's not what came out of the report.
- Tamara Nichol, chair of the DEC
"I think it was surprise," said Nichol referring to Ernst & Young's final recommendation to build a new school.
"I think that we all thought that we would all change some boundaries and everything would be better. And clearly that's not what came out of the report."
Ernst & Young considered the growth of Moncton's north end, and future enrolment projections.
The report concludes that a new school is the most viable long-term solution.
"The area that it's build in [Northrop Frye], it is expanding beyond belief," said Jocelyn Keech, the chair of Northrop Frye's Parent School Support Committee.
"There's new construction all of the time. I think it was just a matter of time before it busted at the seams."
Northrop Frye is a K-8 school build in 2010.
Parents satisfied with report
Many parents who attended the meeting were happy to know there's a solution in the works.
But, it will still take several steps and several years before students can move into a new school.
"I expect that it still needs to be accepted by the province," said Lisa Paschal, whose son is in Grade 8 at Evergreen Park.
"There is a financial component to look at now as well."
The report also looked at two possibilities for a new school. A Grade 6-8 school for 659 students, that would cost between $26.5 to $27.5-million.
Or build a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school for 650 students, at a cost of about $28.8-million.
The provincial government still has to approve the new school, but Greg Ingersoll, the superintendent of Anglophone East School District, said he's confident that will happen.
"I think that was a commitment from them [Department of Education], that whatever came out of the study they were going to go with that," he said.
"So it was just a matter of the district education council accepting the recommendation and moving that forward."
The DEC's next step is to decide whether it wants the K-to-8 option or the Grade 6-8 school.
Parents and members of the public can review the report and give their feedback on the district's website until Oct. 9.
The DEC will make its final decision on Oct. 13.