A high-risk elementary school in Richmond is one of 45 in B.C. to benefit from the provincial governments $584 million seismic upgrade package.
After being deemed last year as a high-risk in the event of an earthquake, James Gilmore elementary parts of which are almost 50 years old is now likely to be completely rebuilt at a cost of around $14 million.
However, it looks unlikely that anything will happen until well into next year as plans are at a very early stage.
Were waiting for more details to come through, but our staff have been working with the (education) ministry on this for some time, said a delighted school district chair, Donna Sargent.
The age and state of the building dictates that it doesnt make any sense to put money into it.
This replacement was in our five-year capital plan and were obviously very pleased to hear this announcement as Gilmore was number one on our list.
Sargent said it was too early to say when work was likely to start or what will happen to the 380 students during any construction phase at the school near No. 1 and Francis roads.
Premier Christy Clark announced Monday funding of more than $584 million to seismically upgrade 45 high-risk schools across B.C.
The School Seismic Mitigation Program is an ongoing program to address all high-risk school buildings.
With the 45 new projects, a total of 213 schools have either been completed, are under construction, are proceeding to construction, or have been supported through the program. That leaves 102 high-priority schools to be addressed.
Other elementary schools in Richmond that were also classified as high risk last year were: Manoah Steves, Donald McKay, James Thompson and Quilchena.
"It's a significant challenge to upgrade each and every high-risk school throughout British Columbia, but the progress we've made so far is fantastic," said Education Minister Don McRae.
"Leading experts in this area continue to seek information on our work, our research on seismic safety, and we take great pride in knowing our innovations are being used to keep kids safe both here and across North America."
First launched in 2004, the School Seismic Mitigation Program is backed by leading B.C. engineers and geoscientists who designed new guidelines for seismic safety in schools based on the latest research from major earthquakes around the globe.
In 2010, these experts used these guidelines and new assessment tools to conduct a comprehensive reassessment leading to a more accurate picture of seismic safety risks in B.C. schools.
