New school for Burnt Church

Feb. 27, 2009

There were a lot of smiling faces in the Burnt Church First Nation school Thursday morning as Indian Affairs and Nothern Development Minister Chuck Strahl announced a new school for the community.

A loud roar filled the gym as the students, teachers and other members of the community cheered after Strahl made the long awaited announcement.

With a price tag of around $10 million the new facility will replace the aging school used by the community's students from kindergarten to Grade 8.

Strahl stood in front of a Conservative blue backdrop with the words "Improving the Quality of Life" in bold letters printed on it as he told the people in attendance the new school is the first announcement the federal government has made since the budget passed.

"In Burnt Church you've been very patient.

You've been asking for a new school for a long time and it's been on the top of our priority list for a long time."

The community has already done a lot of the work needed to get the school built, including the building design and an assessment of what facilities are needed in the school, he said.

"All of that has helped us be ready for this moment."

After Strahl's announcement, Chief Wilbur Dedam said the community has waited a long time to get a new school.

"I want to thank you Minister Strahl for placing native education on a higher platform."

The community has made strides to improve the academic achievements and have been working hard to gather the resources needed, he said and thanked the parents for sticking with the school despite the problems it has faced in the past.

"We have the best staff, the best students and because of you Minister Strahl we will have the best school."

Miramichi MP Tilly O'Neill-Gordon is a former teacher at the Burnt Church First Nation School and was also on hand for the announcement.

She said although the building doesn't look that bad on the surface, there are concerns about its condition, including problems with the electrical system, air quality and past flooding.

"It really is a necessity for the area."

Being a former teacher, she said she knows what it is like for the staff and students at the school.

"I know the conditions that we struggled with."

While the government was keeping tight lipped about the plan prior to the announcement, Burnt Church First Nation education director Simon Dedam said he was glad to hear they had approved a new school.

"We're ready to start building.

This is one of the projects the federal government refers to as shovel ready. "

As for Strahl making the trip to announce the new school in person, Simon said he heard about the minister's visit on Monday and was impressed the minister took the time to go to Burnt Church.

"I'm glad the federal government is making a big deal out of it because it's a big deal for us."

During a question and answer period after the announcement, Strahl said the regional office will handle the money for the school, not the band council.

"They'll go through a regular tendering process so people will be able to bid on this based on the design work that's already been done and the region will handle the contracting of it and the following it through to completion."

There are expectations on whoever wins the contract to deliver the school on time and on budget, he said.

"As we have on every step,we work closely with band and council and make sure that the needs are met and there are no surprises here."

Strahl said there are concerns from time to time in different places about money being misspent, but he congratulated the chief and council on their handling of finances.

"I tip my hats off to chief and council on the work that they've been doing on money management and how they handle finances.

They've done exemplary work. If people want to come and find a good example of work that can be done by people dedicated to doing a good job and handling money it's here in Burnt Church."

When a reporter asked if Burnt Church was chosen for a new school because it is in a Conservative riding, Strahl said he works off a priority list the different regions give him and the school was first on the list since before the Conservatives won the riding.

"People can be very confident it's based on the needs of the students and nothing else."