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Butler says voices of Paradise Elementary parents must be heard January 11, 2007 Roland Butler, Opposition Education Critic and MHA for the District of Port De Grave, says Education Minister Joan Burke should ensure that the Eastern School District listens to the views of parents in relation to the construction a new school to replace the mould plagued Paradise Elementary. "The administration of the Eastern School District has shown themselves to be very resistant to accepting the views of parents," said Mr. Butler. "While the board may not be fully supportive of a new school, Minister Burke can very easily secure funding to ensure a new school is built. This year's election budget promises to have lots of money for various items. While this extra money will be flowing, I encourage parents to be vigilant and demand their voices be heard. I also suggest Minister Burke make this issue a priority during her budget discussions." In early December, the school board suspended cleanup work at Paradise Elementary to consider the building of a new replacement school. Many parents of the more than 600 children at the school say the building's mould problem is so severe that it should be permanently closed. "The decision to repair or build a new school should be made soon. Paradise Elementary students have already been disrupted enough this year, and they should be given some indication as to where they will be educated in the coming year." The Liberal Education Critic says he is also disappointed with the manner in which Minister Burke has dealt with overall mould problems throughout the province. "I have called on the minister several times to conduct a comprehensive review of all schools in this province and develop a plan to deal with the problems identified. Instead of dealing with the problem in a responsible and constructive manner, the minister prefers to play politics and blame the former government. This approach has done nothing to protect the students of our province. Meanwhile, four schools in the province have already closed as a result of mould problems and we may never know how many more should suffer the same fate."
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