New high school announced for Paradise, details scant on when
Concrete details as to when parents in Paradise can expect a high school were scarce at an announcement in the town on Monday, March 4, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those in attendance.
Kayla Quinlan formed the Paradise Needs a High School parent group and is a member of that group’s committee.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I’m also emotional because we’ve just kind of been quietly working and I’m glad that everybody has recognized that there is (a need).”
NOT LETTING UP
While Quinlan was encouraged to hear the announcement, she says the group isn’t planning on letting up now.
“We were respectful, we just presented the facts, and the facts were heard and it’s going to be exciting times ahead,” Quinlan added.
“The work is not done, and I think we realize that, but this is certainly the first really positive step.”
Quinlan said the group still plans to show up at the House of Assembly to make their voices heard, as they have in the past, wearing blue to represent Paradise.
Quinlan and others mentioned that it had been over 10 years since people started advocating for a high school in Paradise. She said she was glad to see this finally seem to proceed.
DETAILS SCARCE
Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell was one of five MHAS on hand for the announcement at the Paradise Double Ice Complex, four of whom are ministers.
Howell said the next steps are site selection, design and configuration for the school, but she couldn’t give any timelines on when people could expect to see the school open.
“Right now, we’re looking at possible configurations,” she said.
“The benchmark is 600 students, but we’re trying to figure out what schools feed into that and what that actually looks like. I am hoping to have it built as soon as possible, I guess that’s the answer. We want to move on this as quickly as possible, recognizing that it’s an important piece of how we continue to improve education for students here in our province, and that’s not anything I want to stop.”
MORE INFORMATION WANTED
One of those who has been fighting for a school in Paradise for a long time is PC MHA Paul Dinn, who represents the district of Top sail paradise.
Dinn, a former deputy mayor of Paradise, says he and the parent group have fought for a new school for a long time.
Dinn said he and the parent group are “going to continue to hold (the government) accountable because we want to see dates.”
Site selection had already been looked at a decade ago, when the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District had requested a new high school for Paradise, Dinn pointed out.
The following year, in 2015, the NLESD asked to meet with the town to discuss the location of both a new intermediate school and high school, and the budget speech for that referenced planning for a new high school in the community.
“When this will happen, when the ground will be broken, when the school will be open, how big the school will be, because these people behind me are parents in the community,” he said.
“They want a school that should accommodate every Paradise high school resident and that’s what we’ll continue to push for.”