Mould, asbestos and other contaminants force closure of century-old Gaspé school

New Carlisle High School was built in 1914 and has started showing every second of its age, to the point where 84 students have been relocated because of poor air quality.

Asbestos insulation, black mould, white mould, mildew, lead pipes — if it's old and hazardous to human health, it's probably there. And that's why most of the students aren't, at least for now.

In a report dated Oct. 26, engineering consultants from Groupe Gesfor also noted ambient carbon dioxide levels well in excess of 1,000 parts per million, the Education Ministry's maximum threshold for safe exposure.

"There's plaster falling off the walls … the kids deserve better," said Cindy Carney, who serves on the school's parent committee and has a son in Grade 7.

The school's advanced state of dilapidation is not exactly news to residents of the town, who have been agitating for a new building for some years. The Eastern Shores School Board initially commissioned the inspection to help bolster its argument for the construction of a new facility.

"When we originally mandated these reports we were not looking to necessarily find out what we found out … when the reports came in we were very concerned. So that's when we started taking steps," Hugh Wood, the board's director-general, told CBC News.

Wood immediately evacuated the school after receiving the Gesfor report on Nov. 2 and consulting with Gaspé's public health department.

Clean-up crews were summoned and the institution's elementary wing, which is home to 57 pupils, reopened a week later. But 84 high schoolers have been relocated to The Anchor, an adult learning centre two kilometres away. That facility's regular clientele has been moved to another building in town.

"The situation is not ideal (at The Anchor). There's no cafeteria, the kids are eating in their classroom. The gym is non-existent, they go outside when they can," said Carney, whose son is among the evacuees.

Despite the condition of the school, those students are expected back in their old surroundings in January. That's not a decision that sits well with some parents.

"My personal mom opinion is it's just not feasible … you can't continue to go to a school with a tarp up that looks like a crime scene," Carney said.

Nor are parents enthused by the idea of younger kids continuing to go to class in the facility.

But Wood says "it's a different wing of the building and the majority of the issues that were causing the mould and mildew are in the high school section."

Though repairs have been made and the mould and spores cleaned up, there are still lingering issues. Like the persistent stink emanating from somewhere in the gymnasium — and the school cafeteria's kitchen, which isn't up to code and has been closed down, Carney said.

The school board expects to receive a second study, this one on the building's structure, plumbing and electrical system, this week or next.

Given the building received a grade of 'F' even before the current round of inspections, the expectation is it will further support the board's argument for funding to build a new school, a process that will take at least two to three years.

A spokesperson for the provincial Education Ministry said the request to demolish and rebuild the school is "being analyzed."

The government also points out it has tripled the Eastern Shores board's budget allotment for infrastructure upkeep in the past three years. But the $3.073 million earmarked for 2020-21 won't fix what ails New Carlisle High.

"It's best days are already behind it," Wood said. "There's not very many days that should be ahead of it in the future."