In 1934, the Health Inspector Chas Clark, began to agitate for a new school building. He referred to the existing building environment as problematic in respect to the physical and educational development of the children. The Roma School Committee pressed for a new building, alluding to the established use of the Unemployment Relief Scheme for the construction of school buildings and departmental preference for provision of buildings for coastal urban centres. The plans were prepared by Maurice Guthrie, of the Architectural Branch of the Department of Public Works, in January 1935, however it took the School Committee a further two years to obtain an undertaking from the government on the construction of a new building. Brick was used as it was thought to be more substantial and cost effective, but perhaps more importantly, it provided employment for greater numbers of tradesmen, during the years of economic depression.
