The Surrey School District says it is facing the expensive prospect of getting rid of old portables that are no longer in use.
Modular buildings are being used in school districts across B.C. to help deal with a ballooning student population, but Surrey’s District Parent Advisory Council says the cost to remove the portables they are replacing is more than $100,000 each.
They said the province is not providing any funds to cover that cost.
As a result, with an already tight budget, the district is letting them sit empty.
“We’ve asked that when new additions are budgeted for and built throughout our district, it’s funded by the province,” Gary Tymoschuk, Chair of the Surrey Board of Education, said.
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“We’ve asked for funds to remove those portables that will no longer be needed, but the province has not budgeted for or paid for any portable moves or relocations or removals.”
Tymoschuk also said the portables are taking up valuable space.
“When it’s on play fields, it takes away from the opportunity for kids to be able to play in those spaces,” he said.
“And in some cases, we’ve got them as well on parking lots, and that just creates complications for our staff coming to work. They’re all trying to jockey for positions, first-come, first-served, to find a parking spot or try to, perhaps, you know, park on the street half a block away, or whatever the case may be.”
B.C.’s Minister of Education and Child Care, Lisa Beare, agreed that removing portables should be in the operating costs for any school district.
“So we’re going to continue to work with districts,” she said.
“Minister (of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma) and her ministry are going to continue to work with districts to support them on builds and what new infrastructure and how to address the infrastructure needs they have moving forward.”
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