GLACE BAY, N.S. -- Parents in Glace Bay are concerned about the closure of Bridgeport School and the prospect of sending their children to smaller schools with what they say are “unsafe conditions”.
The Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board decided to close Bridgeport and the nearby MacDonald elementary schools, sending those students instead to Tompkins and John Bernard Croak with hopes of building a new school by 2020.
However, parents say there are several health and safety concerns related to this decision.
Debbie Tracey says she worries about the condition of the school her granddaughter will be attending in September.
“I'm still hoping the board will do the right thing and give the kids a proper, safe environment to attend,” she says.
Tracey says there are structural concerns at John Bernard Croak. According to an architectural assessment performed at the school in 2013, the roof should have been replaced six years ago.
The schoolboard promised to keep Bridgeport open, but reversed that promise just hours before making a final decision.
“They were told that school needed new structural roofing supports. Since 2011, that hasn't been done,” she says. “When we asked why the paint was blistering and peeling on the walls, the response given by one the board members was, that happens in his house.”
Meanwhile, others say Tompkins isn’t a much better option.
“We are very concerned with Tompkins,” says Brenda MacLean, chair of the Bridgeport Society. “The school has no ventilation or sprinkler systems.”
The school option committee members said they were told to recommend keeping Bridgeport open, because funding for a new school would be difficult.
Bridgeport was already hosting students from MacDonald for gym classes and extracurricular activities and has had many recent upgrades.
“We have lunch room area that we can accommodate the kids in. We're wheelchair accessible. Our ventilation and sprinkler systems have been upgraded to well over a million dollars, which was not put into the profile reports,” says MacLean.
Nova Scotia’s Minister of Education, Karen Casey, has said in the past that the school board has the final word.
The Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board has said that they’re happy with their decisions, and that all their decisions are final.
According to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, both the school and property are considered surplus. Together, they are valued at more than $1.7 million dollars, and could soon be sold.
“If these issues were here at Bridgeport school, I wouldn't want any child coming here,” says Tracey. “It's not about a community, nor did we ever try to make it about a community. It's about safety for the children.”
Concerned parents say they will continue to pursue this issue until their concerns are addressed.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
