Thank you. To Mr. Hawkins’ questions about whether modern day formulas would mean smaller classrooms than we have now, I want to assure Members that we can’t get classrooms smaller than what we have right now. So it would be, as Mr. Aumond said, that in some cases it would mean smaller classrooms and some cases the reverse. In this case, it would be the reverse, because you can’t get classrooms smaller and more dysfunctional in that sense from what we have right now in Hay River South at Diamond Jenness. Some of you have seen them. There is not even a proper dividing wall between the classrooms. It was back in the day when they thought that some movable partition was a good idea so they could open classrooms up. Even the sound area between the classrooms is an issue. I’m not worried about any kind of formula diminishing the size of the school there.
There probably are some areas in Diamond Jenness that are of questionable value, like the stairwells, for example, which seem to absorb a tremendous amount of space, but without tearing the building down and going with a completely new design, you’re not going to really be able to avoid that.
I think personally, from what I know, it seems like the school is worth saving. It is a landmark in the community, but I am concerned about the continued deterioration. When you look at this
technical evaluation and you look at some of the pictures of some of the things around the foundation, the water, the drainage, some of the capping on the roof that is causing water to not drain away properly…. I understand the idea of not throwing a lot of good money after bad if you’re fixing things that are going to be ripped out or changed or substantially altered. I still believe that if we’re going to stick with the main school, the structure of the school the way it is, there are things that could be identified and that could be done that are going to stop the deterioration of some of the areas of the school that are going to address some of the potential prior issues.
I think that if there were a fire in that school today, you would have some serious issues and gaps appear with respect to penetration through firewalls, doors that aren’t rated for fire. I think you’d see some really significant damage, and that is the kind of thing you want to avoid. That’s the kind of thing that with minimal investment you can address.
I know it is more challenging than just having a contractor being in the school and handing it over to them for a period of time and being able to do everything at once. I know it is more challenging, but if there were a way of trying to be stewards of this asset and putting things first that kind of shore up areas where there could be deterioration with time, I would be very much in support of the Department of Public Works looking at those and getting started on this project sooner than later.
Now I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I think that maybe the powers that be have my opinion well registered on Hansardtoday.