A new way to build a school

The plan was unveiled at a standing room only public meeting May 8 at the Greenfield Fire Hall. The meeting was called by the South Shore Regional School Board, which wanted to obtain community feedback on the proposal.

Central to the plan is the idea the community will build the school and lease it to the province. It has already formed a society, raised a portion of the funds, chosen a site, and designed the building.

Now, as school superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake told the large crowd, the board and community are waiting for a decision from the Department of Education. Preliminary discussions have been held and the proposal is expected to be before cabinet in the near future.

Pynch-Worthylake said the community was definitely in new territory. “What is unique is that this is a way that doesn’t fit in with other schools.” She said the plan was experimental, so that everyone was being cautious and careful, and that the board was waiting for a decision from the department as to what it can and cannot do. She added throughout the planning process, the focus has remained on what is good for the children in the school.

Pynch-Worthylake described the plan as an exciting opportunity. She said the idea was different, but that it was not unusual to have a school building not owned by the board or province. There were situations in which private companies owned schools. What is unique is that this will be owned by a community organization, she said.

The proposed new school will be located on land purchased by the former Queens County school board for building a new school in the centre of the community. “It will contain two classrooms, a computer room, a library, administration offices, and a staff area,” said Pynch-Worthylake.

Greenfield New School Committee spokesperson Pat Jones said the committee needed to acquire the property at a reasonable price, and that it would then build the school in 30 weeks. Jones, a Greenfield resident and former executive vice-president of Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto, has returned to his childhood home to live.

He said the school would be built without tax increases to the community, and at a significant saving to the province. He showed construction figures that indicate a similar school, if built by the province, would cost $1,373.766. Under the community plan, the school would cost $902,717, but the province’s cost would be only slightly more than $600,000.

The committee would raise funds, get corporate donations and negotiate vendor discounts. All lumber required has already been donated by the Freeman Lumber Company, and is milled and ready for use.

Corporate donations to date total $75,000, Jones said, and once the go ahead is given for the project those donations will jump.

The biggest amount, a bank loan of $603,000, would be recovered from the province through annual lease payments. Jones said the construction committee has told the province, “We’ll give you a school worth a million three. You give us $603,000 for the lease, and we’ll look after the rest.”

Pynch-Worthylake said building a new school would not necessarily mean the community would always have a school, as that depends on enrolment. She said a new building would be a factor in the board’s regular review of schools, a process carried out under strict regulations.

Jones said the proposal calls for the province to fulfill the terms of the lease, even if the school were closed. It was clear at the meeting, though, that no one expects that to happen. Jones said what was left to do is to obtain approval from the government, have a public announcement made by the Minister of Education, have title to the school site conveyed to the community, obtain the permits, finalize the contracts, and then undertake 30 weeks of construction.

He said the group wants the children to be able to move into the building by January of next year. He told the gathering the community could help by being supportive, being generous both in terms of time and money, volunteering, being watchful for vandalism or theft during construction, and being respectful of the rules during construction.

It was clear the project has broad support in the community, already noted for its ability to get together and accomplish things, with the community recreation centre being one example. The feedback wanted by the school board and committee included questions on cost, building design, how much would have to be raised by the community, cooperation with the South Shore Regional Library, and the amount it would cost community members to use the facility after school hours.

Plans call for both the library and computer room to be available for public use by members of the community when school is not in session.