Marysville tops school priority list
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com
Published Friday June 8th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
New schools may be in the works for students and staff in the Hanwell and Marysville areas.
District 18 officials are considering building a school in the Hanwell area and another in Marysville to replace the aging Alexander Gibson Memorial School.
Both projects were discussed at a district education council meeting Thursday night during a presentation on capital improvement projects.
The Gibson school, which was built in 1926, is listed as a priority.
"Two years ago, we requested the Department of Education do a study on the condition of the school, but it didn't go through," said Jeannine St. Amand, chairwoman of the education council. "We went ahead on our own and hired an outside engineering firm do an assessment on it."
The facility assessment found the school in dire need of repair, according to St. Amand.
She said an upgrade just to bring the school up to current building codes would require almost $6 million in repairs.
Supt. Alex Dingwall said there are no safety concerns at the school, but it needs everything from new exterior walls and electrical work to a new ventilation system.
"We could continue with normal operations at the school, but it's not up to code at all," he said. "Even with $6 million, we couldn't bring the older section of the school up to code because it's wooden framing."
St. Amand said the council passed a motion to look into the possibility of building a new school instead of making the repairs because there isn't much of a difference in costs.
"A new school is between $7 million and $8 million, so it's time we consult with the community and school administration to decide what direction to take next," St. Amand said.
She said there's been no decision regarding a school in the Hanwell Road area, but council has received letters from parents requesting one.
"We'll do an internal review of the area, including costs and population, to see if a school on the Hanwell is viable," said Wanda Bauer, director of administration and finance for the district. "Once that review is done, we'll decide what we want to do."
Another project in the capital improvement plan is $15.7 million in renovations to Fredericton High School.
Bauer said the cost for new
windows is phenomenal and the building has 35 different roofs that need repair.
Fredericton High School isn't usually on the major capital improvement list, Bauer said, but it's too hard to get ahead when only a few repairs are done each year.
"We've done a lot of work at the school over the last few years. The school is close to 40 years old, so major upgrades are needed."
The major-projects list also includes renovations to Doaktown Consolidated School and the next phase of construction for the Kimble Road School and the combined Boiestown and Doaktown school.
Some of the smaller projects include heating systems for Kingsclear Consolidated School, a new roof for Nashwaaksis Middle School and green space for George Street Middle school, which is expected to cost $1.8 million.
There are 349 projects on the district list for 2008-2009 slated to cost approximately $26.2 million.
The list has been forwarded to the Department of Education for review.