St. John’s, NL (May 28, 2025) – Paul Dinn, PC Shadow Minister of Education and MHA for Topsail-Paradise, spoke out again today about worsening school conditions at Larkhall Academy and Leary’s Brook Junior High as Liberal Government delays continue for the proposed new school for Kenmount Terrace.

Dinn continues to hear from parents and school council leaders who are extremely frustrated with lack of progress on the new Kenmount Terrace school, which is slated to open in September 2026.

Dinn said there’s little progress being made on the new school, which was reannounced in 2023, and poor conditions at the current facilities are getting worse.

“Larkhall Academy was recently closed due to a furnace issue and fuel odour through out the building. Children have complained of headaches and other issues. Parents have asked for air quality testing,” said Dinn. “Furthermore, despite already being reconfigured from K-5 to K-4, Larkhall is back to over 400 students. Across the street, Leary’s Brook Junior High has informed the school community they are losing their library and cafeteria to classroom space for this coming September. How much worse is it going to get?”

Dinn noted overcrowding and other issues have been raised by parents for years, but government has ignored them. He added that Leary’s Brook Junior High is projected to start with over 600 children in September after being reconfigured and moving the Grade 9 classes to Prince of Wales Collegiate last year.

“It is time for the Liberal government to come clean and provide an update on the new school for Kenmount Terrace. Parents need and deserve an immediate plan to mitigate and address the overcrowding and infrastructure issues. The current situation is not conducive to a good learning environment for our students – they deserve better,” said Dinn.

Darrell Hynes, a former School Council Chair for Larkhall Academy and Leary’s Brook Junior High, said parents are fed up and question government’s commitment to the new school.

“I attended a public meeting last June where parents warned of overcrowding and lack of teaching spaces at Leary’s Brook Junior High. Parents similarly expressed frustration that Larkhall Academy was an outdated and inadequate building that was slated to be closed years ago,” said Hynes. “The MHA and Ministers of Education and Infrastructure attended that meeting. They were dismissive of our concerns and stated a new school would open in September 2026. We do not see how this is even possible given the lack of action from the Liberals. Their nonchalant attitude towards this serious matter is simply not good enough.”