CBS seeks schools review

Among the people watching the news about a new school for Paradise this past week, few were paying closer attention than some councillors and residents in the neighbouring town of CBS.

At the Conception Bay South council meeting Tuesday, the subject was the first one broached by Mayor Darrin Bent under the heading of new business.

“On the subject of schools, I want to congratulate our neighbours, the Town of Paradise, on getting the announcement for a new high school in that community,” said Bent. “And I shouldn’t call it a new high school. On getting a high school in that community, because that’s something they’ve never had before and it’s something that the growth of the town deserves. But on that note, I just want to say that when I talk about the growth of towns, I believe – and I think council supports – that we deserve a review of the school system right here in Conception Bay South, from top to bottom, all the schools. We have schools that are bursting at the seams, we have elementary schools that (only) go up to Grade 4, junior highs that go from (grades) five through seven, and high schools that go from (grades) eight to 12.”

Bent said council will ask the Province for a meeting to discuss the status and future of schools in CBS.

Parents of children attending Frank Roberts Junior High in Foxtrap, along with parents of children who are in feeder schools for that facility, have been raising concerns for several years, the mayor noted.

“That’s a school that was built at the height of the Viet Nam War, the Beatles were still making records, we hadn’t gotten anyone on the moon (yet), and the first Trudeau prime minister was just barely elected when that school was built,” Bent said. “It’s a school that has housed anywhere from 400 to 700 students on an annual basis, almost daily for 10 months out of the year. So, you can imagine the wear and tear on a building like that.”

Bent said council supports the parents who are calling for upgrades of Frank Roberts Junior High, or its replacement.

He pointed out that when the high school for Paradise was cancelled some years ago, an expansion that was planned for Villanova Junior High was cancelled at the same time. 

“I remember when that school opened, and it was too small when it opened,” said the mayor. “It needed to be bigger… So, we’ll be reaching out to the Province to hopefully have meaningful discussions regarding the school system in Conception Bay South. We would like a full review of it, and we would like to see some upgrades and considerations certainly sooner rather than later when it comes to the school system here.”

Councillor-at-large Joshua Barrett thanked Bent for pushing forward on the issue. “I couldn’t have said your call for school infrastructure better myself,” he said. “I just want to support the comments you made regarding our school infrastructure, and I look forward to our ongoing dialogue with the Province.”

Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley also argued for the need to replace Frank Roberts Junior High.

He congratulated the Town of Paradise, parents and others involved in getting the commitment of a high school from the Province.

“We definitely need something to replace the old Frank Roberts School as well,” he said. 

Tilley said he spoke with Conception Bay South MHA Barry Petten after the announcement. The PC Member has been one of the people lobbying hard for a replacement.

“Rest assured,” said Tilley, “just because there’s an announcement in Paradise for a new high school, that doesn’t change his tune as to how desperate we are to have Frank Roberts fully replaced. He said he has spoken to the (Education) Minister on several occasions and it’s still on the burner. So, we certainly hope that probably in the next 2024 budget, you never know, there could be a few extra shekels floating around and we can get our school replaced.”