Nova Scotia’s school capital plan lacks transparency, growth targets: auditor general

The auditor general says Nova Scotia needs a better growth strategy for its new schools.

Nova Scotia’s school capital plan hasn’t kept pace with population growth, nor has the province provided strong evidence and rationale for where new and replacement schools are being constructed, said Auditor General Kim Adair Tuesday.

“With more than $1 billion in new growth and replacement schools announced in the past year, it’s important the Department (of Education) support its recommendations for new growth school requests with a clear evidenced-based process,” said Adair.

Enrollment has surged over the past decade, including a 13 per cent increase in provincewide enrolment and a 24 per cent jump within Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) alone.

According to the AG’s school capital planning report, Halifax-area schools have grown from 48,000 students in 2015-16 to nearly 60,000 this year.

To meet the population growth, the AG report indicated the province has spent $162 million on modular and portable classrooms across the HRCE to welcome the influx of students.

Adair says the province needs to adopt a new growth strategy to ensure new schools are going where they are needed most.

In 2023 the province announced four new schools, but Adair said she didn’t get a clear explanation as to why those school communities were selected over other communities.

“Decisions of this magnitude should be supported by evidence that very clearly demonstrates which school capital projects are the highest priority and those should be approved first,” said Adair.

The audit includes six recommendations, including the call to update and develop a new school capital plan with a strong business case that provides clear evidence for new schools and rationale for advancing certain projects over others.

Adair said the province has agreed to start implementing the recommendations.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page