Save parts of Moncton High: report
Maureen O'Shaunessy of CS&P Architects told a public meeting on Thursday night that Moncton High should keep its auditorium, tower and Church Street façade.
She said the remaining elements of the 75-year-old school should be rebuilt. The consultant's report comes at a time of urgency for the school, which was shut down early October for health and safety concerns.
The 1,300 students were forced to spread out to a series of other city schools for the remainder of the school year. School District 2 undertook more than 240 different repairs done in the previous 18 months before the closure.
Most of the more than 100 people at the Thursday meeting seemed to think the recommendation was a good marriage between retaining some of the heritage of the school and bringing the functionality and safety of the building up to date.
O'Shaunessy said the consultants are confident in the long-awaited recommendation.
"I think we've hit the right note and we have found the right thing that will satisfy people and make Moncton High a great place again," O'Shaunessy said.
"I think that's probably the best compromise, and probably the only one if you are going to stay on this site," Munn said.
"It will still basically look the same, but behind that wall will be a modern building, I think that's pretty neat."
O'Shaunessy's team will now prepare the final report and present it to the District Education Council in two weeks.
O'Shaunessy said construction of a new building generally would take about 18 to 24 months.
But she stressed, that is just construction time, and doesn't include the planning, tendering and other details that need to be finalized before shovels hit the ground.
The province will make the final decision on whether or not to go forward with this plan.
An earlier report said it could cost $48 million to bring Moncton High up to the building code, which is roughly double the cost of building a new school.
Upcoming budget
Then, the rest is up to the provincial government, which is scheduled to deliver a capital budget in early December.
Anne-Marie Picone-Ford, who represents the Concerned Parents for Moncton High, said she is relieved a recommendation is on the table, and thinks it's a great balance.
"Our next step is putting pressure, making sure that the [District Education Council] does this," Picone-Ford said.
"I know that they have said they are going to make it a priority, so it's going to get to the government very quickly. And now it's our will to get to the government and really pressure to get this decision made and get things moving."
Michelle Richards, whose son is a Grade 11 Moncton High student, also said she wants to see the recommendation put into action very soon by the district education council and the provincial government.
"Let's work with this and get this school back up and running in 2012, September, not January, 2013."
Education Minister Jody Carr toured Moncton High School recently and called the conditions unacceptable.
The education minister said it was "unbearable" to "smell the stench" when he walked into classrooms and see water coming through the building.
Carr said he would not want to send his children to the school.
The education minister said he would form a new committee, made up of a parent, a teacher, representatives from the affected schools and district officials. The committee will be asked to develop a plan just in case students can't return to Moncton High next fall.