New Westminster parents vent frustrations over tardy school build
New Westminster Secondary School is 67-years-old
Everyone including provincial politicians agree: the 67-year-old buildings that make up New Westminster Secondary School need to be replaced and for years, parents and students have been hearing it will happen "soon."
"For 13 years we've come close, but never close enough," said Danielle Connelly who organized a rally Sunday at the school.
"It's 100 per cent a safety issue, it doesn't meet seismic standards, there's asbestos in many surfaces throughout the school. There's mold, there's mice, there's rats, there's open wiring. It's beyond the point of repairable."
'We are close but not close enough'. says New West School Bd Chair. It's been almost 15 years of waiting. <a href="https://t.co/4NWwsxwBJL">pic.twitter.com/4NWwsxwBJL</a>
—@CBCDeborahGoble"I hope they build a safe school because right now it's not safe and it's not earthquake proof," said Emily Luu, a grade seven student.
"I was in a science class that had asbestos in it," added Olivia Fryer, a grade nine student who attended the rally. "It was covered with glass but said, 'warning asbestos' and I was in that class five days a week for four months."
Education Minister Mike Bernier responded by saying his ministry is aware of all the problems and the school is a priority project.
"We have 1600 schools in B.C. and this one is on the top of the pile that needs to be replaced," he said from Victoria.
But Bernier added that New Westminster Secondary School is a complex project. There are heritage issues surrounding a First Nations burial ground on the property, and there may also be a size issue as the new school will have to be larger than the current one.
"I think parents are here to say that close enough is not good enough and they want to know for sure that there's going to be funding for a new school," said Jonina Campbell, chair of the New Westminster school board.
Bernier is promising more news soon, but those at the rally along with the city's mayor Jonathan Cote say they are growing tired of that word.
"The problem is we've been hearing 'soon' for a very long time now so I think our community is not going to believe a new school is happening until they see shovels in the ground," he said.
With files from Deborah Goble