The New Westminster school district’s plan for a new high school will be presented for final government approval “early in the new year,” according to Education Minister Mike Bernier.
“I can’t give you anything more specific,” he told the Record. “Your local MLA has done a great job advocating for this school, and the school board themselves have done a great job with their staff working within our ministry to get to the point where we will have a new school in New West. It’s something as a government we recognize is a real top priority. Early in the new year we’ll have more information and hopefully a positive announcement for the people in the area.”
Bernier was in town Tuesday as part of a province-wide tour of school districts.
At New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy’s invitation, he toured New Westminster Secondary School and heard all about the challenges of making 21st-century learning happen in a 65-year-old building from principal Phil Cookson.
“The school was built for a philosophy of education that is a reflection of the late 1940s and early 1950s,” Cookson told the Record before the tour. “That’s 65 years ago. Kids are learning differently now. We’re teaching differently now.”
From its post-war layout to its lack of wifi, the facility isn’t equipped to maximize kids’ educational opportunities, he said.
“Your facility should optimize learning rather than restrict learning,” he said.
But even keeping the building going in its current state is a challenge, according to Cookson.
“The functionality of the building is pretty much gone,” he said. “Our heating systems, our plumbing systems, our ventilation systems, our electrical systems. … We do what we can to keep the building running, but it’s all patchwork at this point in time, and it has been for an awful lot of years.”
During the tour, the NWSS principal told Bernier about recent roof and sprinkler-system leaks that led to mould blooms and shut down home ec classrooms and a cafeteria this year. He said one of the great challenges the school faces is just keeping water flowing and electricity running.
And when things go wrong, workers can’t just knock down walls to fix problems, he told Bernier, because of asbestos.
“So, any time we have a leak in a pipe, we have to have a hazmat crew come in,” he said.
The tour even yielded evidence of rats for Bernier to observe.
“As you can see, we have droppings here, unfortunately,” Cookson told the education ministry near a crawl space under the Massey wing. “I’m not trying to bring you to the most awful, disgusting part of the school, but that’s the reality we’re faced with. That is an indication of what the whole area underneath this whole wing is like.”
When asked after the tour if he thought the students of New West needed a new high school, Bernier had this to say:
“One of the things I definitely saw today was the school board has done an amazing job with the school that’s out here, making sure that we have a good working environment for the students. Obviously, one of the things from a provincial perspective, working with the school board, is that this is definitely a priority that we needed to be looked at and it’s one that we’re working on.”
In a letter this past June, the education ministry had originally told the school board it hoped to present the high school plan for final approval by September. And former superintendent John Gaiptman had told the Record work on the project could start by next summer.
After the tour Tuesday, however, school board chair Jonina Campbell said the delay wasn’t the result of any major roadblock.
“I think that part of it was making sure that the project going forward was as comprehensive and detailed and prepared as possible so that when it does get to treasury that it’s successful,” she said.
