A $3.3-million contract to extend Mobile Central High School doesn’t satisfy the calls for a new middle school from parents in the area.
The government has set aside $3.3 million over the next two budget cycles for a two-storey, 1,500-square-foot extension to the school in Mobile. The contract was awarded to Mount Pearl-based Redwood Construction.
Mobile Central High opened in 2008 as a Grade 7 to 12 school. The extension would see Grade 6 students added to the school, taking them away from nearby St. Bernard’s Elementary in Witless Bay.
The expansion will add nine new classrooms, a computer room, washrooms, an elevator and more parking.
But concerned parents in the area don’t see the contract award as good news.
Susan Stamp, one of the voices against the school extension, says it doesn’t address the larger problems.
“At this point, we need a middle school,” said Stamp.
“There’s issues at the high school as it is.”
Education Minister Dale Kirby has repeatedly said the extension will suffice to address capacity issues between the high school and elementary school in the area.
There was a middle school in the area for years in nearby Bay Bulls, which served Grades 4 to 6. When St. Bernard’s was extended less than a decade ago, St. Patrick’s was closed.
The extension is expected to be completed by the end of the year, but even on that note, Stamp says parents aren’t optimistic.
“If they think they’re going to have it ready by the end of this year, they’re dreaming,” she said.
A previous contract was awarded for $236,790 to move water lines and a transformer at the school. Parents had previously raised concerns about the well in the school, which is near the local cemetery. Students at the high school drink bottled water, rather than tap water, amid the concerns.
St. Bernard’s currently has 354 students, with Mobile accommodating 254.
The Southern Shore is one of the fastest-growing regions in the province. The 2016 census noted that 400 more people moved into the Witless Bay area from 2011 to 2016 – a 38 per cent boost in numbers.
Stamp says concerns have been raised about Mobile Central High since it first opened.
“Parents have been fighting for a new school for 10 years. Parents knew the school they were going to build wasn’t going to be big enough,” said Stamp.
“There’s so many issues, so many issues.”
Twitter: DavidMaherNL
