Parents and students from the only all-girls public school in Atlantic Canada will head to Halifax Tuesday to challenge the Nova Scotia government's decision not to buy the existing school building.

The group hopes to present provincial Education Minister Marilyn More with a 5,000-name petition asking that Holy Angels High School in Sydney, N.S. stays open.

On Friday, More said her department's budget is too tight to purchase the building, which needs costly upgrades.

The building, which is leased by the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board, is currently owned by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. They're selling the building and the adjacent convent next year.

More said her department has offered to work with the school board to investigate other options for Holy Angels.

The school was established in 1885.