Parent advocacy group helped land new high school for Paradise

The details are still being ironed out, but the provincial government has committed to building a new high school in Paradise — thanks largely to involved parents, according to officials.

Area MHAs and other community and government officials were on hand for the announcement Monday at the town's double ice complex. 

Last to arrive was Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell, who opened by quipping, "They've been waiting that long now, what's a few more minutes?"

Each speaker, including three area MHAs, Mayor Dan Bobbett and Howell, agreed on two things: that a new high school in the town of Paradise is long overdue, and that a newly formed parent lobby group played a big part in paving the way for today's announcement. 

"They did a great job of presenting factual data, and the numbers speak for themselves," Howell said. 

The numbers compiled and presented by the group pointed out that Paradise is a fast-growing community full of families with small children, and also reminded the government that there are 1,500 teenagers being bused out of town every day to attend high school. 

Founder Kayla Quinlan said she was compelled to start the group last summer after learning from her MHA, Paul Dinn, that he had been lobbying for a new high school in Paradise for 10 years. 

"I thought that was a little bit unbelievable," Quinlan said.

She formed the Facebook group "Paradise Needs a High School," and within weeks thousands of supporters had joined. 

"So then we got a committee, and it was amazing," she said. "Everybody brought their set of skills — we had data collected, we had a media campaign, we just kind of presented the facts, and it was undeniable."

Quinlan said she and her committee will keep an eye on the project's details and timelines.

"I think we took upon ourselves now to just really make sure that it wasn't going to be overlooked again," she said. 

Dinn, MHA for Topsail-Paradise, said Monday's announcement is a positive step, and he hopes the project continues to move in the right direction. 

"We're going to continue to hold [government] accountable because we want to see dates. You know, when this will happen, when will ground be broke, when the school will be open, how big the school will be?" he said. 

"This is a win. Not just for the community, but for our kids."

Mayor Dan Bobbett said parents in his town have been pushing for a new high school since his children — now grown adults — were in primary school. 

He said he's excited about the promise but will remain wary until solid plans are in place. 

"This announcement today obviously comes on the eve of a budget announcement," he said.

"We're a growing town and we do have lots of opportunities and spaces here in the town, so we'll see what happens."

Howell said discussions regarding the school's size and location are in the works.

"The benchmark is 600 students, but we're trying to figure out what schools feed into that, and what that actually looks like," she said.

"I'm hoping to have it built as soon as possible."

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