Work is underway at F.W. Howay Elementary to make the 55-year-old school better able to withstand an earthquake.
The $4-million project began in the summer and includes renovations to the school plus improvements to its infrastructure, district superintendent Pat Duncan told the Record.
“We’re also replacing the mechanical and electrical systems in the school as well – we got a grant to do that – so the whole school gets an upgrade,” Duncan said.
The grant money the district received for the electrical and mechanical upgrades is included in the $4-million price tag, Duncan added.
To bring the school up to the province’s latest seismic standards, workers will be reinforcing the walls and roof of the entire building, including the gym. As the work is completed, students will be moved in and out of a portable the district installed on the site in the summer.
“We’ll just move classes through the portable as the process goes along,” Duncan added.
In addition to the structural work, the district is also turning an unused space on the school’s lower level into a brand new multi-purpose room.
“It was actually an outdoor basement, fenced-in kind of area, so it was just not a usable space. To be honest, I don’t know what it was intended for when it was first designed, but it will allow us to have a multi-purpose room, and it’s something the (parents advisory council) had been asking for for a long time,” Duncan said.
The entire project should be complete by spring break in March 2017.
