WORK on the construction of a €1.95 million new primary school for Ballinagar could start as early as July. The Board of Management and the people of the Ballinagar area were very happy last week to learn that the school had been included on the 2010 Building Programme
Chairman of the board Monsignor Tom Coonan said they are now at the stage they were at two years ago when the project was suspended.
"This announcement is the fulfilment of the promise made to the board of management by Minister Batt O'Keeffe on March 12 2009 when we met with him in Tullamore. The board of management was given permission to recommence the project in early November 2009 when our design team was called to a meeting in the Department of Education."
Principal Denis O'Connor said the school is desperately needed due to burgeoning enrolments. "There are more classes outside than inside," he said, referring to the fact there are three solid classrooms in the school, while there are four in prefabs.
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The school opening in 1949 as a two classroom school. A third was added in 2001 and the first prefab came in 1999. This was followed by three more in 2002, 2005 and 2009.
When the last classroom in the school was built in 1991, there were 105 pupils.
The school has now grown to 186 pupils and ten teachers including a resource teacher and a full time learning support teacher.
The new school will be a General Repeat School, meaning it will have a standard design, such as the new school in Emo.
The school will be two storey, contain eight classrooms, a hall, a library, a lift and will be very eco friendly.
It will contain a water conservation system which will collect and use rainwater within the school.
"It's been a long time coming. We first applied for an extension in 2000 and a new school in 2001," said Mr O'Connor.
Monsignor Coonan made applications again in 2003 and 2004. Minister Mary Hanafin visited the school in 2005 and a letter from the Minister in 2006 stated that the new school would be proceeding to tender and this would happen in between 12 and 15 months.
Monsignor Coonan said he would like to thank the parents and previous boards of management, the teachers and parents councils "whose hard work is responsible for the procurement of our new school."
He paid special tribute to John Malone for his generous donation of two acres of prime building land for the school. "This donation was responsible for getting us on the building ladder originally."
He also thanked the parishioners for their contribution to the recent fundraising campaigns, supporting the parish contribution to the school and also local and national public representatives for their efforts.
Monsignor Coonan said builders could be on site as early as July and its expected that once started, completion of the school will take ten months.
