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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2003-04-30, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2003. PAGE 9. Trustee grills board over SDHS renovation costs By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Business administrators of the Avon Maitland District School Board were grilled by Stratford trustee Rod Brown, concerning higher-than-projected costs for the renovation of the former Seaforth District High School (SDHS) building. The existing Seaforth Public School is scheduled to close its doors as of September, 2003, with students expected to relocate to the former high school building. The building already houses the board’s administrative offices, and renovations are needed both to accommodate the kindergarten to Grade 8 students, as well as establish a barrier between the school and administration. Trustees gave the go-ahead for a tendering process last December. At that time, Seaforth-area representative Charlie Smith requested an amendment to the plan, to ensure any future surplus space within the school will not be taken over by administration. Previously, Smith led a several-years-long and sometimes bitter campaign to keep secondary school students in the town. At the board’s April 22 meeting, however, Smith raised his hand to move the acceptance of the completed tendering process, thereby signalling his support. He offered no further comments, before voting along with all other trustees to approve the tender. Brown, on the other hand, shared numerous comments. And, despite his affirmative vote when the question was called, those comments were critical of how the project has been handled. The Stratford trustee was particularly concerned about the almost $800,000 cost of the project, which is about $100,000 more than earlier projections. He suggested this decreases the total amount the board will save from the closure of SDHS, compared to what trustees were told during the so-called “student accommodation review” process through which that closure was approved. “I wonder if trustees would have felt as strongly about closing that school if they had known what the savings actually turned out to be,” said Brown, who was one of three trustees to vote against the closure just over a year ago. Facilities administrator Phil McCotter responded that the increase in renovation costs arose largely out of the board’s commitment to consulting with community members about what was necessary for the reloca tion of the elementary School students. Examples given by McCotter included extra washrooms in the upstairs of the school, a sink in the Grade 6 classroom, and a series of separate ventilation systems. Director of Education Lome Rachlis, meanwhile, said the increased costs compared to last year’s projections are understandable because, at the time, the board didn’t want to be seen as trying to entice community members into supporting the SDHS closure by offering expensive renovations for the elementary relocation. “The time comes later when you ask what the wish list is,” Rachlis said. Repairs limited for AM school roofs He then added that the final costs are “still in that ballpark. It wasn't double. It was still within a reasonable range.” McCotter told Brown the earlier projections “were an estimate at best. When you get into an engineering project, there are complications that you don’t foresee.” Brown was not appeased, however. He said prudent business planning involves making contingencies for potential unforeseen circumstances.^, “Being off the mark by 20 per cent is significant,” he charged. “That's $100,000. That’s a big deal.” Chair Meg Westley eventually asked Brown to conclude his comments, suggesting they dealt with a larger issue that shouldn’t interfere with the approval or disapproval of the particular Seaforth renovations. But she agreed that trustees might want to think about Brown’s Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Roofing repairs will be carried out on several Avon Maitland District School Board facilities this summer, but officials would like to be able to do more. “It used to be that we were able to do an entire roof on an elementary school, and do a section of a high school,” explained business superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson, following the approval of several roofing tenders at a regular meeting Tuesday, April 22. Baird-Jackson says a decrease in available funding in recent years has forced the Avon Maitland board to tackle elementary school roofing jobs — and, to a greater extent, high school repairs — section by section over more than one summer. Trustees approved roofing tenders on April 22 for Wingham Public School, Upper Thames Elementary By School in Mitchell, Exeter Public School, Elma Township Public School and St. Marys DCVI. “These are the ones, really, that we feel are in the most need of immediate repairs,” explained Baird-Jackson. “Some of them are completing repairs that have been partially done in previous years, and some of them are the beginning of repairs that will be completed next year or the year after.” At Wingham, Upper Thames and Exeter, repair of the roofs began last year and should be entirely completed by this coming September. At St. Marys DCVI, part of the roof was redone last year, with another portion scheduled for this summer. “The only thing that won’t be done will then be the Tech wing, which can survive a little longer,” Baird-Jackson said. At Elma, repairs will only begin this summer, with more work to follow in subsequent years. “It’s a judgment call,” the superintendent said, describing the process of deciding which roofs should be fixed. “It’s a balancing act in terms of recognizing that we need to allocate money to other spending areas as well.” assertion that more accurate projections would be useful during future student accommodation reviews. On the job Students at Blyth Public School were busy under sunny skies, April 23, cleaning up for Earth Week with help from Glad. Back row, from left: Patrick Johnstone, Leticia Kolkman, Darcy Young, Jennifer Williamson, Jessica Nethery. Front: Braydon Whitfield, Ryan Nesbitt, Sabrena Morrison, T.J. Pavao, Rachael Snell, Tine Verschaeve.As well, in the village volunteers turned out on Saturday for the Glad Clean for Green event at the Blyth Greenway t ra i I. (Bonnie Gropp photo) Stallion Showcase & Fun fundraiser A total of 400 boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts were ordered during the Blyth United Church fundraiser. Helping with pick-up were, from left: Amanda Bearss, Amelia Carter- Brown, Brandilyn Bearss, Candi Bearss. (Bonnie Gropp photo) ( INSURANCE PREMIUMS TOO HIGH? A Omni Insurance Brokers Save 20-40% on your auto insurance and more on other insurance services * Free No Obligation Quote Paul Hallahan R.R. #3 Blyth (519) 523-9110 Fax: (519) 523-9278 Clinton Office: (519) 482-3434 ilfSH \^email:phallahan@odyssey.on.ca " Offering Insurance & Financial Services Farm/Commercial/ Residential/Auto Accldent/Sickness Information Day Saturday, May 3 BUILDING SYSTEMS OF ONTARIO starting at 9 a.m. at the Coverall Centre on Hwy. 86, east of Lucknow This is an all breed Stallion showcase including a silent stud service auction. Special guest speakers, covering a wide area of topics include: Pat Grass - Non-Resistances Training • Dr. Anne Holmes - Reproduction • Angela Smith - Massage Therapy • Dr. Allison Hooper - Chiropractic • Dr. Mary Backs - West Nile Virus • Dr. Andrew Pharazyn - Nutrition Related to Reproduction Admission $3 Kids under 10 free Proceeds to be donated to the Ripley Light Horse Show Silent Stud service auction bids start at $300. Don’t miss this opportunity. For more information contact Krista Holtby 519-395-5955 or e-mail thompsonfeed@hurontel.on.ca