'It's a turn-key operation': Could a shuttered Moncton school open to students again?

Overcrowding at Moncton High Some wonder whether the old Moncton High building could be used to ease overcrowding concerns at the new school.

Former Moncton High student Michael Roy would love to see kids marching through the front doors of his old school again. It's been vacant since 2015 when the new Moncton High School opened about 10 kilometres away near city limits. But, like the city, the new Moncton High is going through a growth spurt.

Built for 1,230 students without portables, it finished last year with 1,550. It has 16 portables, by far the most in the Anglophone East School District. That makes Roy wonder why his old school isn't being used.

“This building has been built to be a school. It has been a functioning school for 80 years. It's been recently renovated and brought up to code. It's a turn-key operation with all the amenities that we need for a functioning high school,” said Roy.

Liberal MLA Rob McKee, whose office is right across the street from the old MHS, considers the building a jewel of the city's heritage and thinks it’s a shame it’s not being used.

Like Roy, he also thinks using it as a school again is a good option.

“The last time I spoke with the owners of the building, it was something that they had in mind when they were doing the renovations on the inside. They kept the classroom formation in place and it could welcome back students, from what I understand,” said McKee.

On Wednesday, the Anglophone East School District announced it has grown by 1,000 students since last year and 2,000 students in the past two years.

A spokesperson for the district called the growth “unprecedented and exponential.”

McKee thinks the province should have a plan for the population growth it is currently experiencing to help alleviate the pressure put on schools.

"Cafeterias are being made into classrooms, libraries are being made into classrooms, portables are taking over playgrounds, so it's a real problem that we're having,” said McKee. “Teachers, students, parents have been very vocal about this for some time.”

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson Charles Renshaw said an assessment of the former Moncton High School is underway to determine what, if any, use can be made of it.

"There are currently no short-term plans to send students to the former Moncton High School," said Renshaw in an email.

Built in 1935 with a gothic-revival style of architecture, the building was sold by the province to Moncton real estate firm Heritage Developments in 2017 for $1 million.

The 92,000 square-foot building has gone through extensive renovations since then, but a tenant hasn't been found.

Roy, who lives in the neighbourhood, says it’s a shame the building remains empty.

“I see the kids that normally would be walking to school here getting on a bus and having a 45-minute commute to get 10 kilometres out of town, and to me that's just not fiscally responsible and it's not fair to our urban students,” said Roy.

Roy would like to see more schools in urban areas and not on the outskirts of town.

"Most of our schools should be walkable, unless you live in a rural situation,” said Roy. “You should be able to walk to your school or at least bike to your school.”

The Anglophone East School District won't know how many students are enrolled at Moncton High until the end of September, but once again it is expected to be more than 1,500 students.

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