Students, parents and MHAs call for new school to replace 'deplorable' C.B.S. junior high

Parents andstudents of Frank RobertsJunior High in Conception Bay South protested outside the school's front doors on Thursday over what they're calling "outrageous" and "deplorable" conditions.

Jeannine Murphy, organizer of the protest, told reporters the rally was set up to raise awareness of the problems she says are rampant.

"You can put lipstick on a pig all you want. But it's not going to change that this school is in desperate need of repair," Murphy said.

"This school has reached its end of life. It's not working. It's overcrowded."

The protest comes a week after another parentsaid the school hasa rodentproblem.

Parents are calling for the school, which was built in 1969 and currently holds 660 students with no cafeteria, to be replaced completely.

On Friday,Newfoundland and Labrador English School District CEO Terry Hall saidhe didn'tagree with that idea.

"I get that a lot of people would like to have a brand new school. We do build schools when required, but just because a school is old that doesn't mean it's not safe or it's not a good learning environment," said Hall at the time.

"The district wouldn't put people in a school that they thought wasn't safe."

Education Minister John Haggie also saidthe school had a health and safety inspection earlier last week. The building was in good condition and passed cleaning protocols, he said.

"All they've done is walkthroughs. You can't make that determination in a walkthrough. You need to conduct tests and that takes time," she said.

A new school, if approved, would take years to complete.

In the meantime, Murphy said, there needs to be some renovations.

"It needs to be up to standard, and whatever that is I don't know. But there definitely needs to be something done in the interim," she said.

Opposition on site

Thursday's rally also drew the attention of oppositionMHAs.

NDP leader and education critic Jim Dinnsaid he was there to support the parents, along with opposition PC MHABarry Petten,who represents the district.

"It's very clear in the House of Assembly, listening to the minister, that he doesn't see a problem. It's important that parents know that, yeah, we do see a problem," Dinn said.

"There's a real concern here that this issue is not being taken seriously. I'm hoping today it sends a clear message to government and to the minister of education that this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed."

Dinn,a former teacher, said maintenance issues are often pushed off and problems become worse.

He said a new school should take priority over the one slated for Portugal Cove-St. Philip's.

Petten said he'll keep the fight going and is calling on government to hire an outside company to complete a full health and safety inspection of the school and post the results online for the public to see.

"These concerns are real and I wouldn't want my child to go in there, and none of us should, really," he said.

"It's falling on deaf ears. Government is not listening and we've got to make the voice louder."

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