Portables still a problem at Secord Public School.
Almost one year later, students of Secord Public School are again dealing with the poor conditions of their portables.
The 20-year-old portables were the complaints of many parents. They were said to smell like mould and have water damage on the ceilings and roofs. The parents even staged a protest, pulling their children out of class, to bring attention to the issue.
But Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher says nothing has changed today because the school board could not get funding from the province.
“We cannot build, add or do anything on the property on a capital budget without the permission of the ministry,” Cary-Meagher said. “But they oversee every single part of the process. They scrutinize it, they cut things. Even if we had the money to build it we couldn’t build it without their permission.”
Cary-Meagher added that the province is aware of the problem but they do not want to spend the money.
Today, the problems with mould and water damage have been fixed by replacing the roofs and the dry wall that was affected.
“It was really an extensive process to explain it all to the community and it unfolded unreasonably well,” Cary-Meagher said
Parents are still angry about the situation, which she understands Cary-Meagher says.
“They’re angry because nothing is moving,” she said. ”And they want to know why and they don’t get answers.”