A member of Thames Centre council is pushing for the Thames Valley District School Board to get on board with a policy for defibrillators.
A student at West Nissouri Public School fundraised to buy the lifesaving equipment after another child from the area died in a soccer game.
The board has declined to install the machine, however, with a post on the school’s Facebook page stating that an upcoming Home and School meeting will address acquiring a board-approved device and arranging for training.
Kelly Elliot is a councillor for Thames Centre and her children go to West Nissouri.
She tells AM980 the TVDSB should look at its counterparts across the province.
“The Thames Valley District School Board is the only school board in all of Ontario that doesn’t have a policy or doesn’t have AEDs in every school,” she said. “The London District Catholic School Board, they have an AED in every single school that’s maintained by Middlesex County EMS and it’s easy enough for the Thames Valley District School Board to do it as well.”
Elliot said despite having everything prepared, the board is still pushing back.
“We’ve already raised the funds for the AED, we had a parent stand up to donate $2,000 to cover any ongoing maintenance costs, which there isn’t, because again, Middlesex County EMS covers it. So we’ve jumped through all their hoops, we’ve done everything they want us to do.”
So far, the board has declined to comment.
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