Province buying back Pictou Elementary after P3 lease expires

The provincial government has announced plans to purchase Pictou Elementary School when its public-private partnership (P3) lease expires at the end of August 2020.

Department of Education spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn said this week that the province has agreed to pay $3.9 million to current owner Scotia Learning Centres, owned by Sime Armoyan.

Fairbairn said the government, which had the option to extend the lease beyond 2020, would have had to pay $9.8 million to lease the school for the next 30 years.

During the 1990s, the province sought to save money by getting Scotia Learning – along with private companies Nova Learning, Ashford Investments and the Hardman Group – to build approximately 39 P3 schools and then lease them to the government.

In November, the province announced it would purchase 12 P3 schools when their 20year leases end in 2020. Those schools, all also owned by Scotia Learning, generated a combined price of $85.9 million, deemed by the government as cheaper than a new lease agreement. Scotia Learning Centres will operate the 12 until June 30 and Aug. 31, 2020.

By contrast, the province at the time extended the deadline for a decision about Pictou Elementary to June 30 this year, to allow for a Chignecto Centre School Board review.

While Fairbairn was unable to comment on the timing of the decision to buy Pictou Elementary, online research indicates the board decided in April to close nearby Pictou Academy, move students in Grades 9-12 into the building currently housing Dr. Thomas McCulloch Jr. High – and for the latter to be named Pictou Academy.