There will be no imminent government funding available to replace the 59-year-old Prince Rupert Middle School.
Minister of Education Mike Bernier paid a visit to School District 52 on March 30 and toured the middle school — a building the B.C. government has listed as a vulnerable structure and high risk of damage in the event of an earthquake.
“Up until recently this school in Prince Rupert was not on the seismic mitigation list,” Bernier said. “But what really bumps it up on the list is that it’s been reassessed and is now considered an H1 (High 1).”
But for the past 10 years, replacing the school has been a priority for the district ever since the government program was brought to their attention. The cost of a new middle school is in the ballpark of $22-million.
Sandy Jones, the superintendent for School District 52 said the building was on the list and then in 2011 it was taken off the list. The school district appealed to the ministry and years later the school was back on the list.
As of January 2017, there are 342 schools in British Columbia on the seismic mitigation program list — 118 schools have yet to be addressed — Prince Rupert Middle School is 98 on the list.
The building was built in 1958 on a landfill. On Feb. 21 the school district sent a letter to the minister notifying him of the school's issues, including failed water and sewage pipes, power outages and mould.
Jones gave the minister a tour of the facility to push the school districts’ case for why they need millions of dollars in funding.
“This school is an old school. It definitely has some issues that need to be addressed, like other schools around the province that we are working on as well,” Bernier said after the tour.
Lack of commitment from the ministry to replace the school left some members of the parent advisory committee deflated. When Bernier was exiting the school, several members of the committee they told him the concerns they have for the approximately 450 students in the school.
Katy Basso, the chair of the committee, said they had gathered 300 signatures in four days to petition for the replacement of the school, and she was hoping that is what was going to happen.
Bernier’s response was that the government’s goal is to have all schools in the province seismically mitigated, or replaced, by 2025. Even without a funding commitment from the province, Jones said the school district wants to be prepared and they are already working on site selection.
“We know we’re going to get a new school. We don't know when but we want to be shovel ready,” she said.
Pre-election heat
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice was also present after the minister’s tour. The pre-election heat was palpable as both parties blamed the other for inaction.
"As of about three weeks ago I was actually unaware of the issues that this school had," Bernier said. “In four years the local MLA never once came and met with me, asked me about it or talked to me about this specific school."
The middle school’s issues were recently brought to her attention after parents complained to her about classroom conditions and unpleasant odour.
“I didn’t realize, so I started doing some research on how severe the problems were at this school. I didn’t know four years ago the severity,” Rice said.