The Ministry of Education will not be providing funds to replace Prince Rupert Middle School based on it’s seismic rating on the school.
The provincial government announced that there would be revised seismic ratings on schools and earlier this year a team of engineers re-evaluated the threat of earthquakes to more than 500 schools in British Columbia. The team determined that of the 500, 152 were at high risk and will need structural upgrades to ensure that they are safe. The remaining amount was classified at medium, like PRMS, and low risk, meaning that they can be made safe without any structural upgrades.
The team consisted of engineers from UBC’s department of civil engineering, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.
“The result of that reassessment was that Prince Rupert Middle School is rated in the medium-risk category. So the placement in that category means that replacement of the school under the seismic program is unlikely to happen,” explained School District 52 Secretary-Treasurer, Cam McIntyre.
But according to McIntyre, PRMS is still in the mix of schools that could have part of another section of their capital budget going towards buildings that have a need for replacement. PRMS was rated fairly high because of the amount of upgrades that the school needs to have done, however McIntyre expects that the ministry won’t make an announcement as to which projects will go ahead until the spring.