A serious rethink of provincial funding for capital projects is needed in B.C.
There are a couple of reasons why the system needs changing.
One is that funding is approved for new schools based on what the enrolment is at the time of the approval – and not what the enrolment will actually be when the school opens. And so what happens is a new school is completed and there are portables already on site because of area growth.
School districts are adept at predicting if enrolments will rise by the time a school is finished because they consult with the city they operate in and know if there are new housing projects coming.
New Westminster is (finally) getting a replacement for its outdated high school, and it’s anyone’s guess if the school will be big enough to accommodate the area’s students – or if there will be too many.
For now, the school district is saying the school will be big enough, and we hope that’s true.
There needs to be some flexibility from the province when it comes to planning these projects.
Listen to the school districts if they are saying growth will exceed the capacity of a certain project. Plan for the future and not the present.
The second rethink comes in the area of seismic upgrading. The province is full of schools that badly need fixing to ensure they won’t collapse when (not if) a massive earthquake hits us.
Now considering how important it is that our schools are safe for children, the past couple of decades have seen slow movement in the area of seismic upgrade. The big reason, of course, is the cost.
In Burnaby, the progress on replacing Burnaby North Secondary School has been shameful.
This Burnaby high school has been described as the most at risk of “widespread damage or structural failure” during an earthquake.
And yet, despite an announcement by the previous BC Liberal government that work on North would begin in 2014/15, the Burnaby school district didn’t get the green light to submit a detailed business case for the project until March 2017.
That kind of delay is unacceptable considering the potential risks to human life.
The good news is that the school district submitted a detailed $79-million business case this spring for a total replacement of Burnaby North Secondary, and there are indications a decision on the project may be imminent.
That’s a relief, but it could take years until a new school is open.
Twenty-four School District No. 41 schools in total have been deemed to be at high or moderate risk of damage during a major quake.
It’s time to get going on ensuring all of our schools are safe.
