Bayside Middle School will get a much-needed new roof, after the province announced $6.1 million in funding Monday, following petitions and protests about years of leaks and mould.
The school’s roof has leaked since it opened in 1992, and Saanich school district has spent about $380,000 on repairs.
Education Minister Mike Bernier made the funding announcement Monday at the Brentwood Bay school, home to about 585 children in Grades 6 through 8 and 60-plus staff.
The Saanich School District is contributing $1 million to the $7.1-million project, which will include new skylights and windows, new insulation and roof drains, as well as the removal of and replacement of mechanical and electrical systems affected by the work. “The scope and cost of this project is larger than we first thought, because damage was greater than anyone expected,” said Bernier.
“We’re fixing those problems today so Bayside lasts for years to come.”
Due to the extent of the renovation, the project is scheduled to be completed in two phases, Bernier said.
In the first phase, the roof over “key areas” of the school, such as the gymnasium, centre core and north pod area, will be replaced, said Bernier. Work will begin this summer and is scheduled to finish this winter, depending on weather.
In the second phase, the roof over the east, south and west pods and main entry area will be replaced. That work is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2017 and finish by summer, also depending on weather.
A tour of the school a few months ago made it obvious the province needed to step up, said Bernier.
“I think it was pretty obvious when I was watching basketball being played in the gym, they didn’t know if they were shooting [the ball] up in the hoops or into the garbage pails on the ground catching the rain,” said Bernier.
Liza Glynn, whose son is in Grade 7 at Bayside Middle School, said news of the new roof is welcome, but “it’s kind of sad” for previous students “overlooked all those years.”
Glynn said in one classroom, teachers were turning off the electricity when it rained because of water leaking down the walls and ceiling.
She also said students were sidestepping as many as 20 buckets placed in the gymnasium to catch water dripping from the roof.
In some areas of the school, green mould had to be cut out. And the district earlier confirmed that a student suffered a mild concussion last year after slipping on a wet spot in the drama room.
Sandra Arthur, chairwoman of the school’s parent advisory committee, said Monday she was surprised and grateful for the investment, adding that the renovation cost increased a “shocking” threefold after engineers assessed the “substantial structural damage” incurred over more than two decades.
The cost of replacing the roof had been estimated at $2.6 million by the school district.
The school district has been pressing the province for seven or eight years to deal with the issue, said Arthur, adding that it’s surprising that parents had to pressure the province on an issue of student safety.
Parents and students stepped up their public campaign on Feb. 23, delivering a 500-name petition to the B.C. legislature.
Students at the school also made a “Fix Our Roof” wishing well from one of the many rain buckets used to catch drips.
