N.L. school district didn't ask for new high school in town where premier lives

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District never requested a new high school announced in the town where Premier Andrew Furey lives, an email obtained by CBC/Radio-Canada shows.

In the email, district CEO Tony Stack requested an explanation from government after money to plan the new facility appeared unexpectedly in the last provincial budget.

"[The new school] was not one of the three priorities we identified nor has there ever been an infrastructure request for a high school in PCSP [Portugal Cove-St. Philip's]," wrote Stack in an email to deputy education minister Greg O'Leary on April 18.

"Are you able to provide any background to this announcement that may assist in responses or in planning for a catchment adjustment?" 

Stack declined an interview request, but Education Minister John Haggie said Wednesday the decision "came out of the infrastructure and budget discussions" and that the facility will allow more than 300 students to avoid being bused to St. John's.

In a statement, the Premier's Office said, "The MHA for the area, the mayor, and other members of the community have long advocated for a new school, as enrolment pressures have increased in the area over recent years.

"Where the premier lives is completely irrelevant."

The new school in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, a town bordering St. John's to the west, does not appear in the district's most recent list of prioritized capital requests. The document was provided to the government in 2017-18 and hasn't been amended since, according to a district spokesperson. It details a number of yet-to-be-approved requests to replace schools described as "aging" or "ill-equipped to offer current programming."

Money to plan four major school infrastructure projects was included in the last provincial budget, tabled in April. The district had recommended three of them: new schools in Cartwright and in Kenmount Terrace, and the redevelopment of Dorset Collegiate in Pilley's Island.

"The school district got their three priorities. And as I said, through our due diligence, this government and the Department of Education, we identified this [other] pressure point for this year," said Haggie.

Haggie said 317 students from Portugal Cove-St. Philip's are currently being bused to St. John's for class. That number could rise to about 400 by the time the new school opens, he said, adding that for the first time in 50 years, school enrolment in the province increased in 2022-23, jumping by about 1,000 students.

In a statement, the Premier's Office said the increased student enrolment "made it prudent to discuss new school priorities that may not have been previously identified within the NLESD."

Haggie said it became obvious to the government there was a need.

"The community had been really keen on doing this and the local MHA [interim PC Party Leader David Brazil] had been a vigorous advocate for it," he said.