New Westminster parents vent frustrations over tardy school build

Everyone including provincial politicians agree:the 67-year-old buildings that make up New Westminster Secondary School need to be replaced and for years, parents and students have been hearing it will happen"soon."

"For 13 years we've come close, but never close enough," said Danielle Connelly who organized a rally Sunday at the school.

"It's 100 per cent a safety issue, it doesn't meet seismic standards, there'sasbestos in many surfaces throughout the school. There's mold, there's mice, there's rats, there's open wiring. It's beyond the point of repairable."

"I hope they build a safe school because right now it's not safe and it's not earthquake proof," saidEmily Luu, a grade seven student.

"I was in a science class that had asbestos in it," added Olivia Fryer, a grade nine student who attended the rally. "It was covered with glass but said, 'warningasbestos' and I was in that class fivedays a week for fourmonths."

Education Minister Mike Bernierresponded by sayinghis ministry isaware of all the problems and the school is a priority project.

"We have 1600 schools in B.C. and this one is on the top of the pile that needs to be replaced," he said from Victoria.

But Bernier added that New Westminster Secondary School is a complex project. There are heritage issues surrounding a First Nations burial ground on the property, and theremay also be a size issue as the new school will have to be larger thanthe current one.

"I think parents are here to say that close enough is not good enough and they want to know for sure that there's going to be funding for a new school," saidJonina Campbell, chair of the New Westminster school board.

Bernieris promising more news soon, but those at the rally along with the city's mayor Jonathan Cotesay they are growing tiredof that word.

"The problem is we've been hearing 'soon' for a very long time now so I think our community is not going to believe a new school is happening until they see shovels in the ground," he said.

With files from Deborah Goble