Students at an Okotoks school suggest renovations started last spring are now leaving them exposed to the winter elements.
A two-year $20-million modernization project started at Foothills Composite High School last spring.
“It’s a very significant modernization. It’s a full mechanical, electrical systems, new roofing system, windows… so it’s quite extensive,” Drew Chipman with Foothills School District said.
But the recent deep freeze across Alberta has put a chill on the project and on students. A number of parents have called the school with complaints.
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“Yeah it has been cold. This cold snap certainly has made it cool in the school so on Wednesday we really pushed the contractor to do some additional work to make sure that we were managing that,” Chipman said.
Luauna Miller picks up her niece from Foothills Composite High School on Mondays. “She came out of her school wearing two coats,” Miller said. “She said that the school was really cold … I parked my car and went inside and there was kids wrapped in blankets.”
“We went down one particular hallway and you could actually feel the cold breeze coming in through the roof where there’s holes.”
Chipman said improvements have since been made and temperatures have improved in recent days.
“They’ve brought in a number of temporary boilers to bump up the heat and the radiation in the heating system. We’ve added temporary heaters to all construction zones to reduce heat loss … Roof insulation’s been put back in in those areas to mitigate heat loss.”
Heaters have also been added to some classrooms to help keep students warm.
“It’s very frustrating because they’re trying to pay attention in class and absorb what the teacher is teaching but at the same time they’re trying to be comfortable, keep warm and keep that chill off,” Miller said.
The school district suggests students bundle up and dress in layers while the cold weather continues. While Miller suggested some areas of the school felt as cold as 5 C Monday, the school district couldn’t comment on exactly how warm the school is now.
“It isn’t your normal temperatures as far as 21 C throughout the whole school, but we’ve done a much better job to make sure it’s appropriate for learning,” Chipman said.
The renovation is expected to be completed in 2018.
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