Spaniard's Bay council ticked off by lack of info on Holy Redeemer school
Members of Spaniard’s Bay council are upset about the lack of information from the provincial government regarding problems at Holy Redeemer Elementary.
The school was closed several weeks ago due to an odour that suggested a chemical leak on the premises. Since then, Holy Redeemer students have been bused to other schools in the region to finish the school year.
"Information on the school is pretty scant," Mayor Paul Brazil said at the June 11 council meeting.
Brazil said he has been in contact with Harbour Grace – Port de Grave MHA Pam Parsons on several occasions, but added that, as she was not in Newfoundland during that time, he had been trying not to disturb her more than necessary.
Councillor Paul Ryan said he spoke to the school's principal and vice principal, who also had little information.
Mayor Brazil said in his last conversation with Parsons, he asked if it was possible for the Department of Education or someone from Transportation and Works to give them an idea on what testing has been completed on the school, any findings, and a timeline on when answers might be available.
Councillor Darlene Stamp said it’s frustrating for residents to not know what is going on with the school.
"If it was something that was serious, they should have the results back by now, I would think, right?" Stamp said. “I mean, you don't know what those children were exposed to."
Stamp made a motion to contact the Department of Education and MHA Parsons to set up a meeting with council, adding such a meeting might lead to a larger one including residents of Spaniard's Bay.
“Who's going to take the lead in the community?” Stamp asked. “It's got to be somebody to take the lead on it, and you would expect that it's got to be the council. Who else is going to take the lead?"
In response to Stamp's motion, Councillor Ryan lobbed criticism at Premier Andrew Furey. "You've got a premier then that goes on there saying that the rest of Newfoundland are nothing but a bunch of quasi-educated people, too, so do you think they're going to answer our questions?" he asked.
Ryan was referring to a comment by the premier last month during a question-and-answer session at the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto when he remarked that just about every Newfoundlander has “an educated, or quasi-educated” opinion on what should be done about the Churchill Falls deal with Quebec when it expires in 2041.
Ryan, meanwhile, said he agreed with Stamp that council should demand answers. He also raised a concern brought to him by a resident about the situation Spaniard’s Bay children are facing at St. Peter's Elementary in Upper Island Cove.
"They're basically in a dungeon," said Ryan. "Down in the basement."
There is talk that Holy Redeemer students are not permitted to mingle with the rest of the student body, he added, for fear fights could break out.
Councillor Stamp repeated that the request for a meeting has to come from someone in an official capacity.
"The only one in an official capacity now is the mayor, is the town council, right?” she said. “So, I think they should respect and honour if our Worship reaches out to them on behalf of the citizens. They should respond.”
Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Shoreline News
