Greater Victoria School District trustees have a difficult decision on their plates: What to do with Vic High? The school has been an important feature of Victoria’s landscape since 1914. Generations of students have passed through its doors, and some have returned to its classrooms as teachers.
To many, it looks as a school should look — an imposing landmark with a gravitas that bespeaks its central role in the life of the city. Its avenue of memorial trees long stood in remembrance of those who made the journey from the classroom to the trenches of Flanders, but would never make the journey back.
At more than 100 years old, the edifice is showing its age, and we know now — as its builders did not — that a major earthquake is coming. The Big One would be too much for those aging bones, making it a danger to the young lives inside.
Tearing it down and building a new, bigger school is the cheapest of three options at $50 million to $60 million. It would cost $60 million to $70 million for seismic upgrades and repairs to plumbing and other systems. To save the exterior while fully renovating the interior is pegged at $100 million to $110 million. A new school would accommodate 150 more students than the renovated building.
The board has heard from many people who don’t want to see the school demolished, and a board committee has indicated it prefers to avoid demolition.
And now the school has been placed on the 2018 Top 10 Endangered Places List, as compiled by the National Trust for Canada.
“The Top 10 Endangered Places List is an important tool that helps draw attention to the diversity of Canada’s historic places and the challenges they face,” said National Trust for Canada executive director Natalie Bull.
It is important, for many good reasons, to preserve heritage sites. What a bland, boring place Greater Victoria would be if all its historic buildings had been bulldozed to make way for modern architecture. Old houses and other structures that are properly preserved add character and colour to neighbourhoods, and contribute to the livability of communities.
Beyond esthetics, heritage sites are important components of the historical record, providing a wealth of insights and information about the past. They are reminders of where we have been so that we can see more clearly where we should go.
And yet, not everything can be preserved; not everything should be preserved. Some buildings were not built well enough to withstand the ravages of time — they become hazards. They need to be replaced with safer, larger and more durable structures.
School trustees are listening carefully to those who want to preserve Vic High. It tears at the heartstrings to think of the school being demolished.
And yet, the trustees also have to be responsible stewards of public money. Preservation of heritage architecture is a costly endeavour, and the school district’s paramount goal should be education.
Educators are in a constant battle for funding to maintain existing services, let alone finding resources to back new programs. If it comes to choosing between the past and the future, the choice is quite clear — education should come before preservation.
As much as they love the old building, former students and teachers must steel themselves because they might have to say goodbye.
