Advertisement

‘It sucks’: Lack of rebuild plan for fire-razed B.C. school rankles parents

Click to play video: 'Port Coquitlam’s families gather to discuss future of school lost in fire'
Port Coquitlam’s families gather to discuss future of school lost in fire
WATCH: It's the first day of school for most students across B.C. but in Port Coquitlam one community is wondering when they'll be able to go back to their neighbourhood school. – Sep 3, 2024

As kids across British Columbia head back to classes, students and parents in one Port Coquitlam community say they’re frustrated there’s no timeline for them to go back to their neighbourhood school.

Hazel Trembath Elementary was destroyed in a suspicious fire on Oct. 14 last year. Since then, about 250 students have been bused to the Winslow Centre, about 10 kilometres away.

Click to play video: 'Parents and students rally for Port Coquitlam school rebuild'
Parents and students rally for Port Coquitlam school rebuild

Families gathered at the old school site Tuesday morning to demand clarity on the future of the school.

Story continues below advertisement

“It sucks,” Nicole Robles said.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Robles said she and other parents are frustrated that there has been no announcement about a rebuild nearly a year after the fire.

“It’s tough, not being able to plan for the future,” she said.

“We have no choice but to send our kids to school on a noisy bus every morning unless we pick up and move to a new neighbourhood, and we don’t want to leave our community, the kids don’t want to leave their friends, their teachers. We just want our school back.”

Alaina Milicivic, who has kids going into Grade 2 and Grade 5, said she just wants to know whether her children will ever be able to return to the site.

“It’s been really rough. We didn’t sign up for this, we signed up to go to our neighbourhood school, to walk our kids to school to see their artwork in the window, to communicate with teachers at drop-off and pickup,” she said.

“Instead we put them on a bus and we wave goodbye every day.”

Click to play video: 'Hazel Trembath school fire was human-caused'
Hazel Trembath school fire was human-caused

She said whether the plan is to rebuild the school or move kids to additions at other sites, parents need clarity.

Story continues below advertisement

“It would make it so much easier to know what’s to come and how long we have to do this,” she said.

B.C. Education Minister Rachna Singh said the government is still committed to rebuilding and working closely with the school district.

However, she said there was no specific timeline for the process to move forward.

Sponsored content

AdChoices