Expectations are high for a new elementary school in Yarmouth.
Completion date for new elementary school pushed back a year
A new elementary school in Yarmouth will open a year later than initially expected, with the facility now slated to open in September 2019.
Construction of the new school, which will be built at the corner of Parade and Brunswick streets – the former site of Yarmouth’s junior high school – was delayed by a couple of factors, says Zach Churchill, Nova Scotia’s education minister and Yarmouth MLA.
The tender for the project came back higher than what had been budgeted and then a provincial election was called.
“Government’s not allowed to make any announcements or move forward with any decision during the writ period,” Churchill said, adding Treasury Board approval was needed for additional funds to cover the higher tender price.
The tender went to Avondale Construction. (Their bid came in at $14,160,949.) Churchill says local sub- contractors will get work through the project as well.
As for how soon work on the new school will begin, he said, “usually it starts about two weeks after the tender is awarded, so I would suspect that construction would be imminent.”
Churchill acknowledges any delay can be disappointing or frustrating for those looking forward to having a new facility up and running.
“But at the end of the day,” he said, “we’re going to have a brand new school that’s going to be modern and is going to provide a really good education to our kids in Yarmouth and I think that’s something the community is very excited about.”
Students presently attending Yarmouth Central School will attend the new facility. This includes students from the former South Centennial School, which closed in June 2016.
When the Tri-County Regional School Board decided to close South Centennial at the end of the 2015-16 academic year and merge the South Centennial and Central school populations, the timeline from the province was that the new elementary school would open in September 2018.
It has been a year since the former Yarmouth Junior High School was demolished at the Parade Street site where the new elementary school will be built.