Re: “Victoria High School lands on national list of endangered places,” May 24.
Parents and students should be aware that only half of the 346 high-risk schools in B.C. have received upgrades in the province’s $1.6-billion seismic-mitigation program.
In the Greater Victoria School District, no plans have been announced to mitigate high-risk Arbutus Junior Secondary, Craigflower Elementary, Lambrick Park Secondary, Macaulay Elementary and Shoreline Community Middle School. There are currently no seismic upgrades underway in the district, and only Campus View Elementary is proceeding to construction.
Four other high-risk schools — Braefoot Elementary, Cedar Hill Junior Secondary, Reynolds Secondary and Victoria High School — are at the early business-case development stage.
By replacing Vic High with a new state-of-the-art high school, the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars saved in construction and operating costs could be redirected to seismically upgrade many more schools in Victoria and around the province.
Surely, the safety of students is paramount.
Anne Kyle-Bartlett
Victoria
