Deciding the Future of the Public-Private Partnership Schools in Nova Scotia
This study evaluates the P3 schools program in Nova Scotia and finds it to be a failure in terms of cost, risk management and evidence-based decision-making. As the study demonstrates, no cost-benefit analysis was done prior to the initiation of the projects, or at any time since. In addition, there were several examples of mismanagement of the program, ranging from a lack of oversight by the province to safety violations that placed students at risk.
Over the next few years, the province must decide whether to purchase the schools, renew the leases or surrender the buildings back to the developers. With the first deadline regarding the 39 P3 schools approaching, the study finds purchasing the schools is the best option for the province.
