Cape Breton schools slated for closure could face sale or demolition

Many of the 17 schools the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board plans to close  — some as early as June and others as late as 2021 — will likely be sold or face the wrecking ball.

In the short term, at least, each building will become the responsibility of its original owner, according to board chair Lorne Green.

"Board-owned schools are all on the Northside," he said, identifying them as Florence Elementary, Seton Elementary, Sydney Mines Middle School, St. Joseph's Elementary and Thompson Middle School.

The board is not entirely sure who owns St. Joseph's, he said. There is the possibility it may actually be owned by a religious organization and the situation is being investigated by the board.

But regardless of who owns what, something will have to be done with those empty buildings, Green said.  

"Our intent would be to liquidate those, through a sale, or a demolition," he said. 

Ten of the buildings will revert to the municipality, a major concern to CBRM, since many of them are old and unattractive to potential buyers. It means the municipality could be faced with prohibitive demolition costs. 

Two other schools built under the P3 arrangement with the province, Sherwood Park Middle School and Harbourside, will go back to the private developer, Ashford Investments, when they close.

The school pegged for closure in Louisbourg, George D. Lewis, may survive, said Green, if it is successful in adopting what's known as the hub school model. 

Under such an arrangement a portion of the building would remain as a school, but there would be significant financial support from tenants who would rent space for various types of businesses.

The school board is open to the idea but time is of the essence.  

"They have until June of this year to show us the plan they have in place, and the evidence that they can operate a hub school," Green said.

Green is sympathetic to the plight of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality when ownership reverts to taxpayers who will then depend on municipal staff to try to sell those buildings.

"I don't envy their job because, lets face it, some of them are old buildings. I don't know that there's going to be a lot of demand for them in the community," said Green.