EDMONTON – Hundreds of elementary students from Good Shepherd School will be moved to other schools earlier than expected after black mould was discovered.
On Thursday night, parents learned their children will be moving to two schools on Tuesday, April 22 instead of the May 20, as was originally planned.
The Edmonton Catholic school – located at 181 Street and 57 Avenue – is 20 years old.
School officials say a design flaw led to a leaky roof, which allowed moisture to enter the building for the past two decades.
Water damage can be seen throughout the school, but the mould was only discovered when workers dug a little deeper.
“What we could see on the outside wasn’t very much, but they wanted to open it up,” said Good Shepherd School Principal Nancy Bergeron. “There is evidence of black mould along the walls, so they want to do an extensive rebuild to fix and address any issues that come about with that.”
Repairs to remove the mould will cost approximately $5.5 million and will take about 12 weeks.
About 325 students will be moved out and transferred to two different schools for the remainder of the school year.
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“Both of the schools are within 10 minutes of this building. We have busses that are going to be shuttling students,” explained Bergeron. “Their teachers are going with them, so they’ll have that continuity of their teachers.”
This past winter, parents were made aware that repair work was needed. They were notified about the mould last month.
While they’re pleased the problem is being addressed, parents of young children say there will be an adjustment period.
“It’s upsetting. I’m happy that they are going to fix the problem, that’s obviously a positive. But it’s going to be hard for the kids to do yet another transition,” said Brandi Reykdal, whose six-year-old daughter attends Good Shepherd School.
“It’s a bit inconveniencing to have this happening right in the middle of the term, but if it has to be done, it has to be done… I’m glad it’s being taken care of,” added Maroro Zinyemba, whose son is in Grade 2.
“I did tell him that he will be leaving this school and going to a different school only for a short while. He was more concerned about his friends and the playground and if that’s going to change.”
Students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 will be sent to Our Lady of Victories. Those in Grades 3 to 6 will go to H.E. Beriault.
Officials say the current air quality is safe and that it was tested by an engineer hired by the district.
*Editor’s note: This story was originally published Wednesday, April 10, 2014. It was updated on Thursday at 10:28 p.m. to include the students’ new moving date.
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