Office of the Official Opposition

Furey Liberals Earn Failing Grade on Paradise High School Progress: Dinn

For Immediate Release

(August 30, 2024, St. John’s, NL) – Paul Dinn, PC Shadow Minister for Education (MHA, Topsail – Paradise), is criticizing the Furey government for failing to make any progress on the proposed Paradise High School.

“For years, a high school in Paradise topped the English School District's capital works list. In 2015, the PC government announced funding for the school in its budget, only to see the Liberal government defer the project indefinitely after taking office in November 2015,” said Dinn. "The community of Paradise rallied in response, coming together to lobby the government on the urgent need for the new school. With a strong, united effort by the community, the government finally had no choice but to include the Paradise high school in Budget 2024.”

He pointed out that just hours before the House of Assembly opened in March, the Furey government held a media event in Paradise with MP McDonald, Ministers Howell, Stoodley, Abbott, Hutton, and Mayor Bobbett, all praising the inclusion of the high school in the budget.

“At the time, I saw this as nothing more than a photo op to silence the community,” Dinn said. "My suspicions were confirmed when the budget revealed only a single line item with a paltry allocation of $50,000."

Dinn has since asked numerous questions in the House of Assembly and through the estimates process, seeking more detailed information and timelines for the high school's development. “Minister Howell claimed that for $50,000, the preliminary planning, including the school's size, design, and layout, could be done in-house. Furthermore, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure at the time, John Abbott, promised updates on the school's progress as they became available. To date, there has been only silence,” he added.

A recent Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA) request from a local resident seeking an update on the high school's progress yielded this response: "Please be advised the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has no records responsive to your request."

Dinn concluded, “It is unacceptable that six months have passed, and with the start of another school year upon us, there is still no progress to report. Issues such as overcrowding, bussing, violence, teacher vacancies, and accessibility should have been addressed over the summer break, yet there has been no planning whatsoever.”

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