Paradise needs junior high and high school facilities

March 5, 2010

For Immediate Release:

Paradise needs junior high and high school facilities

St. John’s, NL - Shane Kennedy, Liberal Party candidate in the Topsail by-election is challenging the provincial government to recognize the need for junior high and high school facilities in the Town of Paradise and address the needs of the many young families in the community.

“Government is currently building two elementary schools in Paradise, yet there are no immediate plans to construct junior high or high schools,” said Kennedy. “There are hundreds of children in Paradise that will require educational facilities as they get older and it is unreasonable to send these students to Mount Pearl and Conception Bay South and overcrowd already existing facilities.

“Paradise is the fastest growing community in Atlantic Canada with young families moving to the area on a daily basis and there is a significant need for these educational facilities for children as they grow. The status quo is not acceptable and the major planning gap that appears to exist must be addressed by the Department of Education to ensure this problem is fixed.

“Elementary schools are a good start, however, we cannot ignore the needs of our grade 7 to grade 12 students. The planning process must start now to ensure these facilities are in place to accommodate the hundreds of adolescents that require an education in our community.”

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