News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government will invest $84.7 million during the 2022-23 fiscal year to support its aim of building a world-class education system in public schools.

This total includes $3.7 million for two new projects, $8.8 million to support the provincewide ventilation program, and $72.2 million to support ongoing major construction projects, capital equipment, improvement work and the dust collector program to ensure schools remain safe for students.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy tabled the department’s capital budget estimates today in the legislative assembly.

“Students need safe learning environments that meet their educational needs in order for them to learn and be successful long after graduation,” said Cardy. “The investments we make today will not only support learning and address space deficiencies, but they support long-term community growth and strategic infrastructure planning across the education system.”

The projects include a new kindergarten-to-Grade 5 school in Fredericton, which will replace Nashwaaksis Memorial School and McAdam Avenue School, and a new kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school for Saint John’s central peninsula.

Four projects at various stages of planning and construction will continue:

• a kindergarten-to-Grade 5 anglophone school on Cuffman Street in Fredericton
• a kindergarten-to-Grade 8 anglophone school in Moncton’s west end
• a kindergarten-to-Grade 8 anglophone school in Hanwell
• a kindergarten-to-Grade 8 francophone school in Moncton

Projects are identified as priorities annually through the department’s capital planning and evaluation process, using the Quadruple Bottom Line Analysis. The department made public today the priority ranking list for school infrastructure projects for 2022-23.

“We know that stable, multi-year funding is critical to support long-term planning and keeping politics out of the decision-making process,” said Cardy. “While the Quadruple Bottom Line analysis tool supports evidence-based decision-making, it can allow for priorities to change ranks rather quickly, making it difficult for school districts to plan their needs accordingly.”

As part of the 2022-23 capital budget, the department has included the Stable Departmental Infrastructure Priorities planning tool. This allows district education councils to better determine which improvement projects, if any, for their schools will be required in the next five years. Unless there is a significant change in scope or an emergency situation, each project on the Stable Departmental Infrastructure Priorities list will remain there until it is funded. While there is no guarantee that a project will be approved within a certain time frame, it will not need to be resubmitted by district education councils year after year. The following projects are included on this year’s list:

• New school to replace Campbellton Middle and Lord Beaverbrook schools;
• New school to replace Hazen White-St. Francis and Centennial schools;
• New Carleton County-area kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school to replace several local schools;
• Upgrade and addition for École Saint-Henri;
• New school to replace George Street Middle School;
• New school to replace Salisbury Elementary School;
• Upgrade for Polyvalente W.-Arthur-Losier;
• New school to replace Forest Hill and Liverpool Street schools;
• Addition for École Abbey-Landry;
• Upgrade for Polyvalente Louis-J.-Robichaud;
• New school to replace Grand Bay Primary and Inglewood schools;
• New school to replace Forest Glen and Sunny Brae schools;
• Upgrade and addition for École Mathieu-Martin; and
• Upgrade and addition for École Sainte-Anne.

New high-ranking projects will be added to the list annually.