Plans to build new high schools in Frank Sound and West Bay and to rebuild John Gray High School will move forward, Minister of Education Alden McLaughlin said Friday.
‘We’re proceeding on the premise that we’re going ahead with those schools,’ he said.
Mr. McLaughlin said the schools will take between two and two and a half years to build.
All three schools will have a maximum capacity of about 750 students each, Mr. McLaughlin said.
‘Studies have shown that small high schools do better than larger ones,’ he said.
The plan is very similar to one outlined by former Minister of Education Roy Bodden earlier this year, with the exception that the reconstruction of John Gray High School will take place simultaneously with the building of the other two schools.
Under Mr. Bodden’s plan, John Gray would have been built only after the other two high schools were completed.
Students of the George Town high school would have been bussed to either West Bay or Frank Sound for the two years it took to rebuild John Gray.
Mr. Bodden indicated there were safety reasons for doing it that way.
‘I was told by contractors that it could be difficult and dangerous to have that kind of major work going on while students were still on campus,’ said Mr. Bodden.
Mr. McLaughlin said there were ways of ensuring the safety of the students.
”The technical people I have spoken with have taken the view that it is doable,’ he said. ‘Obviously, it produces some challenges, though.’
Mr. McLaughlin said the construction would take place on what is now the football field at John Gray High School, which would allow for a fence to be erected separating the construction site from the students.
During the construction period, students would have to find another playfield. Mr. McLaughlin said they could use the nearby Truman Bodden Sports Complex in the interim.
Although there are not actually design plans for the Frank Sound high school because government is looking for a design-and-build bid, four contractors were already pre-qualified for the bid process, Mr. McLaughlin said.
Since the construction process is thus much further along than for that of the West Bay high school, Mr. McLaughlin thinks it could be ready earlier.
‘If everything goes as planned, the high school in Frank Sound should be ready by September 2007,’ he said.
Mr. McLaughlin said it would be a huge challenge to find the necessary funding for the schools.
There was already CI$5 million in last year’s budget for the preparation of the two sites, but much more funding will be needed.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts explained Friday that the government had learned of a possible $140 million of additional borrowing available, some of which could be used for the schools.
Mr. Bodden said a major local bank had agreed to the terms of the loan while he was still Minister of Education.
In his development plan for the high schools, Mr. Bodden wanted see a 5,000-person auditorium built. That will not happen, at least not anytime soon.
‘The auditorium is off the table,’ said Mr. McLaughlin. ‘An auditorium is a luxury and we don’t have room for luxury right now.’
A site for the West Bay high school had been chosen by the previous government, but Mr. McLaughlin said it had not been decided if that would still be the site for the school.
The proposed site, near Scholar’s Park, has the advantage of already having playing fields nearby.
‘And government already owns the land, so it wouldn’t have to acquire it,’ said Mr. McLaughlin.
Another school project that the government has made a priority is the renovation of George Town Primary School, which was badly damaged in the flooding of January 2003.
‘Some of the classrooms have basically been condemned since then,’ said Mr. McLaughlin.
‘The foundations there are too low and the classrooms would consistently get flooded,’ he said. ”The decision was made before my time, but it’s a decision with which I totally agree, that there is no sense throwing good money after bad by repairing those classrooms.’
Mr. McLaughlin said he faces a dilemma whether to move ahead with a plan to build a 16-classroom block at George Town Primary, and if so, where to put that block.
One plan calls for its building where the basketball courts are now, and Mr. McLaughlin said that might lead to a sprawling campus area that was more difficult to manage.
Another plan would be to build a new primary school somewhere less flood prone in George Town, if such a site could be found.
‘We have to have some hard discussions and a decision has to be taken very swiftly on whether to seek another site or go ahead with the additional 16 classrooms,’ he said.
Mr. McLaughlin said student placement demands make it important that George Town Primary School be redeveloped in time for the start of the 2006/07 school year.
Mr. Tibbetts echoed Mr. McLaughlin’s concerns about the state of the school infrastructure, and vowed government support over the building initiative.
‘We’re going to do the very best we can with the resources we have,’ promised Mr. McLaughlin.
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