The mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield said she is thrilled that the town will be getting a new school.
On Thursday, the province announced the former WorkSafeNB rehabilitation centre would be turned into a school.
It would replace Grand Bay Primary School, which was built in 1947, and Inglewood School, which was built in 1960.
Brittany Merrifield, who became mayor in 2021, said the town has been pushing for a new school for many years.
Merrifield said the existing schools have accessibility issues and are missing common amenities such as a gymnasium and library.
“This school has been a critical focus for councils for over a decade and ours is no exception,” Merrifield told our newsroom.
The Grand Bay-Inglewood rationalization project is 10th on Education and Early Childhood Development’s stable departmental infrastructure priorities list.
Merrifield said the town began working with WorkSafeNB in 2021 after the pandemic forced the agency to halt its rehabilitation services at the centre.
“We envisioned that as being a sort of community hub, so we’ve done a lot of the groundwork in terms of how the building can be used, in terms of partners and programming,” she said.
“We’ve always recognized that it’s a significant asset for our community. It’s a part of our community identity and it’s part of our long-term vision as a thriving community, and now it will have the school as a focal point.”
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will begin a structural analysis to determine what sort of work will be needed to complete the retrofit, along with the associated costs.
Officials said the school would only occupy a portion of the facility, with uses for the remaining space to be considered during the assessment process.
“I’d love to see child care in there, any kind of complementary partners, possibly a medical clinic. Things that would serve the community in a positive manner,” said Merrifield.
While no timeline for the project has been unveiled, Merrifield said she has been told using the existing building will get the doors open about three years sooner than a new build.
