James Lawless – View from the Tracks

Some good news came in last week for parents and pupils of Kill National School and surrounds, with the news that permission had been granted for a new 960 pupil facility to proceed at Kill Hill. The site had alreay been aquired and the planning application was submitted in June so it the process has been going reasonably according to plan over the past year or so at any rate. The school is billed as a 32 teacher campus but will initially function as a 24 teacher one and scale up over time. It will also include Basketball Courts, Hard Playing Area, Playing Pitch, 2 Libraries and a General Purposes Room.

The old school in Kill back in use as spillover accomodation

The current school in Kill, like a lot of others in the area, has just about coped with the strains of population growth over the last number of years as the commuter belt expanded beyond its buckle size in recent times. I know from speaking to several families in Kill, Johnstown and all around the catchment area that the school is the number one issue for many of them and has been for some time. Enquiries I made earlier in the Summer drew a positive response from the Mininster, Batt O’Keeffe TD, when he “confirmed that the design phase of the project is progressing well and is on target” and the permission granted is another welcome milestone along the route.

Whilst all has gone smoothly to date, and I am loth to jinx the positive karmic progress around the project, I believe it would be tempting fate to commit to any dates at this stage, given the current funding climate. The original projected opening was to be in September 2009 and I have heard nothing to suggest this will not be met, however it will be an uneasy next while while we await funding confirmation from the Minister. Myself, and I know Deputies Brady and Fitzpatrick likewise, will all continue to state the case and ensure the Minister remains aware of the urgency and priority of this development.

Funding aside, in terms of the construction timeline, it is certainly possible to make rapid progress, we have seen in Sallins school where extensions have literally gone up each Summer over the past couple of years. I was down at Sallins NS yesterday morning, when my own children returned to school after the break, and all the parents were taken with the new buildings that have flown up. A two storey extension houses the older children whilst the new library and PE hall facilities have all been added in recent times. An end to prefabs finally.

So another milestone met and good news for all but my view this is one to stick on until the children are literally walking through the door.