Fredericton and Hanwell need new schools, report says

New schools are needed on Fredericton's southside and in Hanwell to deal with existing buildings that are overcrowded, according to a new Ernst & Young report.

The report found several schools in the Fredericton area are near or over their functional capacity of 80 per cent.

The consultants are recommending that two new schools are built to help with the overcrowding issue.

Specifically, the report is calling for a kindergarten to Grade 8 school in Hanwell and a kindergarten to Grade 5 school on Fredericton's southside, consolidating Liverpool Street and Forest Hill schools. 

The consultants report will go to the District Education Council for review and a recommendation. 

Kimberley Douglass, the chair of the Anglohone West district education council, said the council will tackle the report during the Oct. 27 meeting and make a decision in the months to come.

Hanwell Coun. Darren MacKenzie said a new school is the best-case scenario for the community, which has seen a lot of development in recent years. 

"We bus almost 600 kids in everyday … We're bursting at the seams so we have to have something because this current model is unsustainable," MacKenzie said.

"We can't just keep putting more and more kids into the city because there's no where to put them."

New schools, others close

But a new school in Hanwell would mean the closure of Kingsclear Consolidated School, as students in that area would either attend school in Hanwell or Garden Creek, depending on where they live.

The change is a concern for parent Rebecca Atkinson, whose daughter is in Grade 2 at Kingsclear.

Atkinson said they sent her there because it's small.

The child has Asperger's and high anxiety and her family was told she wouldn't be able to function in a school.

"We worked really hard with a lot of therapy and having a small school setting has been perfect for her and she's been able to flourish, something she wouldn't be able to do in a school with 500 or 700 kids," Atkinson said. 

Atkinson said she feels the recommendation has been made based on figures, but that there is more to consider. 

Consultants also recommend changing some of the boundaries to level out space in elementary schools on Fredericton's southside.