FSSS Update

Greetings to all – here is an update from Families for School Seismic Safety:

We have been quiet for awhile . . . hoping that the Premier’s 2004 impressive commitment to see all BC schools meet acceptable seismic life safety standards by 2019, meant that public officials were on the case and it was no longer up to parents to continue to have to ask.

It appears that we were wrong.

While we understand that planning takes time, we are now entering the third year of a 15-year commitment with very little evidence of progress. Of the 80 schools to which the government made a “fast-track” commitment to see work completed by 2008, construction has begun or been completed on 4. (See attached media summary for an overview which includes a MacLean’s article and coverage of the BC government’s throne announcement of an urgent seismic upgrade of the legislature.)

It appears that the mechanisms and resources to achieve the Premier’s commitment have not been put in place. (See our letter to Premier attached.)

We continue to hope that progress on the engineering front will enable more cost-effective and less invasive retrofits. We continue to press that an integrated approach to school infrastructure be taken that focuses on creating better educational facilities in every sense – including that they be structurally sound.

This was the approach taken by our neighbours in Seattle who will complete work on their school buildings in 2010 and will have spent $1 billion US to achieve this. Citizens voted on 3 consecutive “Building Excellence” ballot initiatives to spend their funds in this manner. Seattle had a planning office and an integrated long-term plan. It appears that we do not.

It seems that politicians at every level including districts, the province and even the federal government have been unable to demonstrate commitment and accountability on this matter. (See attached summary of OECD and UN recommendations to national governments on the issue of school seismic safety.)

As FSSS Co-Director Tracy Monk notes in media coverage attached:

“No one knows what the hand of fate may hold but, at the end of the day, we need to be able to say we had our priorities in the right place and we've done our best. At the moment, I'm not sure we can say that.”

We have composed a letter to politicians at all levels expressing concern and asking for their assistance in seeing this issue addressed. See Part 2 of this update for a letter we have composed for parents and citizens to forward to politicians.

We are asking you to please take action by reading the next e-mail and forwarding it to politicians.

Thank you for your time and effort.

-FSSS