The Burnaby school district is hoping to secure additional funding from the B.C. Education Ministry to make local schools more earthquake-proof.
Greg Frank, the district's secretary-treasurer, told the NOW that a number of schools have been seismically upgraded, the most recent being Burnaby Central Secondary.
"We've got one project still in process, and that's Gilmore Elementary School, and we're hoping to have that completed by early next calendar year," Frank said.
The Education Ministry has approved in principle a seismic upgrade for Alpha Secondary School, and Frank said that consultants and engineers will estimate the scope of the work and costs involved.
"We would very much like to see that school renewed at the same time in terms of being replaced or partially replaced," he said. "I don't think it will be cheaper than just doing the seismic upgrade, but in the long term, it would be cheaper to just replace it."
According to Frank, the building is at the end of its life and needs more work than just seismic upgrades.
"You've got a building that's 60 years old, mechanical systems are at end-of-life, building envelope is old, single pane windows, roof problems, structurally (it's) not built for today's education environment," he said.
The district will submit a capital plan to the school board for approval soon, and Frank said they are planning to request more Education Ministry funding to complete seismic upgrades of the remaining higher risk buildings in the district.
According to a provincial government assessment, Burnaby's schools most in need of seismic upgrades are Montecito Elementary, Stride Avenue Community School and Burnaby North Secondary. [email protected]
