Bessborough School in Moncton needs to be replaced, says report

A report on the condition of Bessborough School is raising the possibility of a new replacement school in Moncton's west end.

A midlife assessment of the school during the summer indicated an upgrade would cost roughly 70 per cent of what a new building would cost.

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District education council member Norval McConnell said that means the school is unlikely to get an upgrade, so thoughts have turned to the idea of building a new school.

McConnell represents both Bessborough and Hillcrest schools on the district council, which just received the report from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure this week.

"They wouldn't recommend it for a midlife upgrade, essentially that they wanted the school to be replaced," said McConnell. 

"Their rationale with that is they have a criteria that's in place that if it's going to cost above 70 per cent of the replacement cost that they should basically build a new school because the difference is insignificant."

McConnell said they've already been looking at land around the area. The challenge is finding a piece of land big enough. 

He said they want to keep the school in the west end, so it remains a west end school. He would also like to see it remain as a school that operates from kindergarten to Grade 8. 

'Hillcrest is not a young school either'

McConnell said the district education council knows it has to do something about Bessborough School, but it's also looking at Hillcrest School.

"Hillcrest is no spring-chicken school either. It's a school that is older too," said McConnell.

"We've got to seriously look at this enrolment number and consider what's best."

He said if Bessborough gets a new school, it could be built to accommodate Hillcrest students as well.

Work needed

McConnell said the school was built to accommodate programs and classrooms from more than 50 years ago, not for programs students need now. 

He said there is a need for tech labs, a second gymnasium, and a field. McConnell said there aren't any safety concerns, as those are always immediately dealt with. 

"Safety concerns are not part of this," said McConnell. 

"If there's a safety concern at the school it's dealt with. This is outside of that. This is facilities to deliver programs in 2016 versus facilities that delivered programs in 1955."

The district education council plans to let a consultation group look at the situation and give guidance on what will work best. After that, the information will be presented to parents.