Upgrades to gym at North Okanagan high school hit ‘major snag’

Renovations to a North Okanagan high school gym have hit a stumbling block.

This week, School District 83 Superintendent Peter Jory said work to retrofit the gym at Pleasant Valley Secondary School in Armstrong, B.C., has revealed that fire damage repairs from the 1970s weren’t properly finished.

Jory says that damage needs to be fixed, which he called “a major snag.”

Now, the question is what those repair costs will be, with Jory adding “there may even need to be a full gym replacement.”

In a school district synopsis that included other SD 83 news, Jory said the extent of the problem has not been fully detailed, but that “it is known that the gym will not be available for use, and other arrangements are being investigated and will have to be made for the fall.”

SD 83 secretary-treasurer and CFO Alanna Cameron added it is still early, and the full scope of the required work is not yet known, but noted the school district has been in touch with the province and have been assured “we will be sent a life raft.”

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“Once we know the cost, we’ll get a more definitive direction from the Ministry (of Education),” said Cameron. “I’m confident will we get some funding help.”

The gym’s retrofit included getting new bleachers, a new floor and a ‘rebranding’ of the school’s logo and colours.

The school’s new name will be the Hawks.

The previous names were Saints for the boys and Sinners for the girls.

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The gym was scheduled to be closed for part of May and June, with classes being held outside and in other areas. It was slated to reopen in September.

More information about the gym is expected at a meeting next month.