Junior high still in play

It wasn’t exactly the news that David Dunphy wanted in his final days as Stratford’s mayor. But it was close and will have to do — for now. The mayor had lobbied long and hard for a junior and senior high school option in Stratford to accommodate the swelling student population for the province’s fastest-growing municipality. Last Friday’s capital budget was a compromise of sorts, confirming a senior high for the town.

It didn’t meet his town’s number one option, but Mayor Dunphy decided to put a positive spin on the plan, calling it a good start. He also hinted that this issue isn’t over.

It was certainly not an insignificant proposal, with the province pledging $38 million over the next four years to build a senior high. It will enable Grades 10, 11 and 12 students to finish their education in their home town and alleviates growing pressure on senior high schools in Charlottetown.

But the fact remains that Stratford’s priority is two new schools. The town engaged planners and presented an ambitious community campus proposal to the province in late August. In addition to separate junior and senior high schools, it was accompanied by an impressive supporting infrastructure of sports fields and recreation facilities for students and town residents.

The Public Schools Branch (PSB) had its own ideas for Stratford, presenting two options for the province to consider — either a scaled-down, combined juniorsenior school or the senior high option. PSB support was an important first win.

The town then waited to see what the capital budget would provide. And in a somewhat surprising twist, the senior high option emerged as the winner. The province’s plan is somewhat disjointed, with students attending Stratford primary and elementary facilities, bused across the Hillsborough Bridge to junior highs in Charlottetown for Grades 7-8-9, and then returning home for senior matriculation.

But costs factors, and overcrowding concerns at Charlottetown Rural and Colonel Gray, convinced education officials that this is the more prudent plan. Whatever capacity exists in junior highs in the city will soon disappear and both the city and Stratford will face another crisis in a few short years. The senior high is a temporary respite, because the need for a junior high will grow increasingly urgent in Stratford.

During his election campaign, incoming Stratford mayor Steve Ogden supported the combined juniorsenior option. He will likely have a heartfelt chat with Mayor Dunphy to consider ways to keep the pressure on the province.

Finance Minister Heath MacDonald suggests the province may still decide to build an intermediate school in Stratford, something a planned education infrastructure review will consider. So, the junior high is still on the table – and Mayor Dunphy may get that farewell gift.

Now the onus falls on Stratford to provide a suitable location for a senior high school – a site large enough that could also accommodate an intermediate school and all those sports fields – just in case.

With an election pending, government doesn’t necessarily want to release all the good news just yet.