GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES OPTIONS FOR RE-PAVING AT M.E. CALLAGHAN

Re-paving at M.E. Callaghan may have to be funded through rural development

If a West Prince school gets a new basketball court and parking lot this year, it likely won’t be through the province’s education department. Options for replacing the outdated infrastructure at M.E. Callaghan Intermediate were discussed during question period this week after Tignish Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry raised the issue. Perry said several constituents have approached him on the issue, with M.E. Callaghan acting as both a school and community centre. “The parking lot, they say, is a hazard and actually an embarrassment to them because of the disrepair that it’s in. The administration has been told by the Public Schools Branch (PSB) that there are more urgent repairs required at other schools,” said Perry. Education Minister Jordan Brown said the PSB determines capital priorities and moves them forward to the department. The department makes an envelope available to the PSB, which indicates which priorities move forward. Brown noted the school is set to get a new water filtration and plumbing system this summer, which is estimated to cost $75,000. That’s in addition to St. Louis Elementary and Bloomfield Elementary getting new oil tanks, estimated at $55,000 and $65,000 respectively, while a new roof replacement at Hernewood Intermediate will cost $115,000. “Depending on how those things go, if there are additional resources, they continue to look at the next project down the line,” said Brown, noting the next two items on the list were new roofs for M.E. Callaghan and Westisle Composite High School. Perry said while he was happy to hear West Prince schools will receive some much-needed updates, the M.E. Callaghan parking lot and court are both still 40 years old and in disrepair. “It has only had band-aid fixes over the years. It has aged very poorly,” said Perry, who described the tennis courts as “unusable.” Brown encouraged Perry and community members to bring the concerns to Rural and Regional Development Minister Pat Murphy and co-ordinate a project proposal for funding. “I believe there to be other options,” said Brown. “When we get the priority things like roofs and boilers and oil tanks replaced, then we’ll start looking at pavement from that point forward. For now, things like tennis courts, I think there are other avenues that may be available.”