COUNTY - The South Shore Regional School Board is preparing to submit a list of its top priorities for capital construction and renovation projects to the Department of Education.

 "We will be able to recommend to the board as early as January some schools that we know we will need for a very long time that have stable enrolments that require significant upgrades," said superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake at a December 15 meeting.

 A week earlier, Education Minister Ramona Jennex notified the board the province was making changes to the way it deals with capital requests.

 "The department plans to ask for an update of priorities each year, ultimately providing a three-year rolling capital plan for the department and boards," said the correspondence.

 The previous government had announced seven years' worth of projects - including the construction of Lunenburg's Bluenose Academy - just a week before the last provincial election.

 "This was not responsible, and the province is now left to sort through these projects within budget realities," said Ms Jennex.

 Project work over $150,000 typically qualifies as capital funding.

 Ms Pynch-Worthylake said the recent changes will make it easier for the board to identify its high-priority needs annually rather than predicting many years into the future.

 "It will allow us to be more responsive. Things change. New developments happen that can change enrolment patterns ... so by having more frequent updates of what our top priorities are, I think we can be more responsive and the province can be more responsive, so I actually think at first look, it's a very positive thing."

 However, the board is still waiting for a staff report based upon a series of school utilization meetings it hosted over the past few months.

 "That's a significant piece of information that the board hasn't seen yet."

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 Last spring, the board released a preliminary $19.55 million wish list including over $4.5 million for a mid-life refurbishment and other projects at Bridgewater Junior/Senior High School, and about $7 million for the same at Park View Education Centre.

 "Park View is a big school, it's an important school in our system, it will be around for a long time," said director of operations Barry Butler at a May meeting.

 "It was built in 1978 and is getting very tired in a number of areas right now, including washrooms, all of the sidewalks ... it basically needs a total refresh."

 Among the other priorities on the list were various roof replacements, accessibility upgrades, new cafeterias and gymnasiums at a number of other schools.

 Meanwhile, staff also recommended Gold River, Hebbville Elementary, Mill Village, Newcombville, New Germany Elementary, New Ross, Pentz and Petite Riviere should be studied to determine the long-term plans for those schools.

 "We can submit a request without it, but I think our chances of getting funding for any of these schools without a utilization study is going to be very, very slim," said Mr. Butler at the meeting, which came just a couple months after elected members had kiboshed a series of potential year-long reviews which sometimes leads to school closures.

 At that same May meeting, Ms Pynch-Worthylake said the board would somehow need to justify the capital upgrades it requests for underutilized schools with a formal plan for the future.

 "If we say, 'We don't have one, we'd just like to keep that school,' it would be highly unlikely to make it through compared to if we said, 'We've looked at that family of schools and here's the work we've done and we plan to keep that school for an extended period of time for the following reasons.'"

posted on 01/04/12