The findings of a consultant's report looking at
infrastructure planning for schools in the greater St. John's region is
now available. The report, commissioned by the Provincial Government in
response to the Eastern School Board's multi-year facility plan,
recognized that re-organization is needed and concurred with most of the
board's recommendations.
"We have known for some time that this region has a
significant number of aging facilities with shifting enrolments so a
plan to address the future configuration of schools is clearly needed,"
said Minister King. "In the interest of fiscal responsibility, this
independent assessment was commissioned to give us and the Eastern
School Board an objective opinion. The report presents a number of
options that will help inform both the board's and government's
decisions as we move through future fiscal years."
The report, completed by the BAE-Newplan Group,
identified several key considerations. Individual engineering
assessments were conducted for each school. While the condition of
facilities in the region is mostly quite good, a quarter of the schools
are over 60 years old. When projected enrolment is factored in,
the region has seen a decline in enrolment of approximately 1,300
students since 2004-05 and is expected to see an additional drop of
approximately 1,000 students in the next six years. The report also
notes that migration is changing. While some areas of the region are
seeing declines in school populations resulting in underutilization,
others have witnessed significant population increases.
In response, the consultants have identified several
options and recommended the following: