As you may or may not have heard, there are a number of concerns about the status of the roof at our school and that it, essentially, has been an issue to varying degrees for the last 20 years. Your PAC has been talking with the school administration through Steve Newlove, as well as the Acting Director of Facilities, Kim Milburn. Please see Kim Milburn's response to our PAC President on February 4th which is attached. The School Board is currently working on a plan to get the necessary funding in place to replace the roof in the areas of the gym, library and entry way of the school this summer while the school is closed. Help from the Province is needed to replace the entire roof which is really what is needed!! Check out this clip from CTV news from February 17th...
While we are pleased to hear promising news from the District, it feels like another band-aid solution and it comes only after the situation has deteriorated to a very low level. We know that on rainy days, water pours inside the school and that buckets all over the school are becoming part of the norm at Bayside. We also know of at least two incidents where children have slipped on water causing minor injuries. Concerns are for the immediate safety of the students, the potential further reaching dangers of this problem and the integrity of the structure of the building.
In the words of one of our parents:
Leaking buildings create mildew, mold, and structural concerns as a result. Given these are children in the building this should be a priority for their immediate safety of slipping on the wet floor, as has happened, their long term health concerns from mold and mildew, the staff’s health and safety and the overall stability of the building. This is not only a health and safety issue it is a safe workplace issue as well.
The roof that has leaked from the time of construction must be compromised in some way, otherwise it wouldn’t be leaking. Water, snow weight, the weight of the roof itself, and corrosion over time doesn’t help an already compromised structure.
A few questions that need answers are;
Does Workers Compensation know this is the work environment?
Has an engineer inspected the building and determined it to be safe in light of how long it has been leaking?
Has there been any environmental testing done to determine if there are mold or mildew issues in the building as a result of the water leaks that compromises the overall health and safety of the students and the staff?
The school district is responsible to provide a safe environment for the staff and students, surely this must include the building. The Board of Directors policies say they are responsible for the Management of the school and property. Section 74 (1) Subject to the orders of the minister, a board is responsible for the management of the schools in its school district and for the custody, maintenance and safekeeping of all property owned or leased by the board.
Who is responsible for getting this roof repaired?
Who carries the liability for not having this faulty roof repaired?
We, as parents, need to get involved in this issue to see more action from the Ministry to support the School Board to support the school. Many voices, with real examples, will draw more attention and hopefully more funding and urgency to the situation. We know the school is doing what they can and the School District is trying to do it's best, so it seems pressure needs to be put on the government to move Bayside up on the priority list.
One way you can help is to sign this petition that we will forward to the Ministry of Education on behalf of Bayside's parents and community.
Even better...You can help by writing to our local representative for capital management for the Ministry of Education, Ryan Spillett at ryan.y.spillett@gov.bc.ca
Please cc the folllowing:
Mr. Steve Newlove, Vice-Principal Bayside, snewlove@sd63.bc.ca
Mrs. Wendy MacDonald, Principal Bayside, wmacdonald@sd63.bc.ca
Bayside PAC, baysidepac@gmail.com
Kevin Elder, Superintendent of SD 63, kelder@sd63.bc.ca
Kim Milburn, Interim Director of Facilities SD 63, kmilburn@sd63.bc.ca
The Saanich School Board Trustees, trustees@sd63.bc.ca,
Ministry of Finance/Risk Management Branch who is responsible for The School Protection Program, andrew.green@gov.bc.ca,
Ministry of Education, Capital Management Branch at capitalmanagementbranch@gov.bc.ca
MLA, Gary Holman, Saanich North and the Islands, gary.holman.MLA@leg.bc.ca
Thank you for getting involved in your child's education at Bayside by creating the best experience possible!
YOUR Bayside PAC