Statement from Mayor Dan Bobbett on Meeting with Minister of Education

Statement from Mayor Dan Bobbett on Meeting with Minister of Education – August 16, 2023

“As part of Council’s on-going advocacy work for a high school for the Town of Paradise, today (August 16, 2023) I met with the Minister of Education, the Honourable Krista Lynn Howell. The meeting was arranged following a request to Premier Furey. It was great to have the opportunity to meet personally with Minister Howell and to outline the clear need for a high school for Paradise. While Paradise has four elementary schools and one intermediate school, there is no high school. Yet, our Town is home to the youngest average-age citizens in the province – 6000 out of our 23,000 residents are under 19 years of age and furthermore, 20 percent of the entire population of Paradise are school-aged children under the age of 14. More than 1500 students in Paradise attend high school outside the Town, and a significant number of them are bussed. Today is a start of on-going dialogue with the Provincial Government on the matter, and Council will continue to advocate that one of the top education infrastructure needs in the province is a high school for the Town of Paradise - the census information and statistics are clear, no other community has our growth.”