Some people who were entering Grade 1 when Bayside Middle School opened in 1992 have graduated from engineering school. Perhaps they could come up with some solutions to fix the school’s leaking roof, a problem that has plagued the building for its entire existence.
Education Minister Mike Bernier says he and his staff are working with Saanich School District officials to remedy the situation. That’s good, but it shouldn’t have taken this long and it shouldn’t have needed a parent protest to spark action.
Students and parents are in the midst of a campaign to have the roof replaced. While parents delivered a petition to the B.C. legislature Tuesday, students at the school made a “Fix Our Roof” wishing well from one of the many rain buckets used to catch drips.
Sandra Arthur, chairwoman of the school’s parent advisory committee, told reporters that one classroom has to turn off the electricity when it rains, while students in the gymnasium have to dodge rain buckets while playing games. A student suffered a mild concussion last year after slipping on a wet spot in the drama room.
Martina Redman, who handles communications for the parent advisory committee, said the district has been pressing the province for years to deal with the issue.
“I’m still not confident it’s going to actually happen, but we’re definitely further ahead than we’ve ever been,” she said.
Bernier said that when the district brought the issue forward last year “there was not funding available within the specific capital envelopes to assist them and, at that time, the message was given to the school district that that’s their responsibility within the facilities grants that we give them.”
School districts are responsible for maintenance of infrastructure, but the Bayside situation isn’t a case of routine maintenance. Given that the roof leaked right from the start, it seems reasonable to class it as a construction defect. The province builds schools; the province should be responsible to ensure those schools are properly built.
Instead, the school district has had to spend $380,000 on repairs trying to stop the leaking. Superintendent Keven Elder said the district worked with the contractor for the first 10 years trying to remediate the problems.
“Originally we were working off regular contractor warranty,” he said. “After that time, it started to fall to us to effect those repairs.”
A leaking roof is not merely annoying or inconvenient. Puddles on the floor create slipping hazards; water leaking into electrical systems is downright dangerous. Moisture can lead to mould and rot, which can create health hazards. The integrity of the structure is compromised.
The roof doesn’t need fixing, it needs replacing, at an estimated cost of $2.6 million, of which the district could contribute $1 million, using funds from the proceeds of the recent sale of McTavish Elementary School and unused funding from an annual facility grant. The district wants the province to cover the rest, and wants the roof to be replaced this summer.
It’s a request that is more than reasonable. The district has done due diligence in trying to fix the problem and has reached the limits of its resources.
Students shouldn’t have to collect coins so they can have a school roof to protect them from the elements. Parents shouldn’t have to take a petition to the legislature to get attention for such an obvious problem.
It’s time for the province to step up and do its part.
