The New Westminster school district is putting the feelers out to parents to get their thoughts on the possibility of delaying the opening of the new downtown middle school for another year.
Superintendent John Gaiptman recently asked QayQayt Elementary school parent advisory council chair, Serena Trachta, how she would feel if École Fraser River Middle School's didn't open in the fall if construction isn't complete, as was the case for her elementary school when parents turned up to find a school missing playgrounds, without a gym and work still being done on the building's exterior.
"They asked us as parents, would parents be disappointed if the school opening was delayed, if the alternative was to have an incomplete building like happened at QayQayt, and we said 'Oh, my gosh, thanks for asking first of all, thanks so much for including us in the dialogue and second, we would much rather have the building finished," Trachta told The Record.
Parents she spoke with at QayQayt's recent parent council meeting confirmed her feeling to wait and have a finished school come opening day, Trachta said.
"If it's not done, we'd rather wait," she said. "We managed it (at QayQayt), that's what we do, but it's not something that we want to put the kids through again. It's stressful on the kids."
Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary parent Don Ellam, who caused a bit of stir after tweeting that the district was in fact delaying the opening until 2016 after he attended the QayQayt parent council meeting, said it's a good idea to hold back a year if the opening if the school isn't ready.
"I don't think it's a bad decision, if the school's not going to be ready, well, then good, let's have it done properly instead of the old days where you throw it up," Ellam said.
Trachta was frustrated with Ellam's tweet because, she said, he "misquoted" her when he wrote on Twitter that the school would be delayed. The reason Ellam was at the meeting was to start recruiting people for the new middle school's parent advisory council.
"As far as I know it is not delayed, what I am aware of is that they are considering options," Trachta noted. "SD40 is considering options on what to do if the project were to be delayed."
The district is exploring the possibility of delaying the school's opening and wants feedback from stakeholders, Gaiptman told The Record.
"It wasn't meant to put anybody under duress, it was to do my due diligence," he said. "I have driven by the school, spoken to the board and said that we have to be looking at a plan B - should staff start to have concerns as to whether the school will be ready to receive students in a way that allows them to work in an environment that is conducive to learning. There is a difference between occupancy and an environment that is conducive to learning. My concern is that we open it ready to have all aspects of the school ready to receive students in a real learning environment."
The superintendent noted that the construction company had three extra weeks to work on QayQayt, due to the teachers' strike, and still much of the school wasn't complete.
"It bought us even more time and yet we still had to wait an extra three weeks on top of that for the gym to be ready," he said. "It is my responsibility to keep the board informed and look at all eventualities."
Meanwhile, Gaiptman said if the district were to delay the opening of the middle school, located on Eighth Street and Queens Avenue, it wouldn't impact the construction schedule for the New Westminster Secondary School, a project the district is still awaiting for approved funding to replace. Otherwise, the elementary students slated to make the move to the middle school would stay at their respective schools until the following year, he said. The school board's headquarters, which are slated to move to the new school, would also remain at Columbia Square, which would cost the district more money on rent. (Gaiptman was looking into the figures, but couldn't provide them at press time.)
School board chair Jonina Campbell said the board's priority is to ensure that students have a good start to their school year.
"The board is concerned, always making sure that the students when they enter our school, that the school is ready for them to have a learning ready environment," she said.
Yellowridge Construction, the company in charge of the middle school construction (and built QayQayt), could not be reached at press time.
