The Parent Meeting that Occurred this past Tuesday Evening
There was a great turnout of parents and guest speakers which was really great to see.
There seemed to be a small mix of reviews of the meeting and it would be great to see and hear what you thought.
In my opinion the meeting was good on one hand and not so on another. There was not enough time allotted to parents to ask questions and for me that was the purpose of the meeting. Being asked to submit questions ahead of time made me question the integrity of the meeting and most of those questions were never answered by the panel which was disappointing and a let down to parents. The parents were cut off from asking questions after only a few minutes.
Definitely the folks from Pacific Environmental are very knowledgeable, shared their knowledge and carefully explained many procedures.
Larry from WorksafeBC also was very clear about his role and the role of WorksafeBC which was great to hear.
The folks from the school district? Well, I need to be polite I suppose but Nancy Johnston should not be part of this process barely uttered a word of truth and did more verbal damage than good.
In regard to pod 300 I think that the process they are undertaking to keep the pod safe while the abatement work is undertaken should keep everyone safe from harmful chemicals, mould and asbestos but then again, breakdowns do happen. Is there a risk? Yes, small but yes, anything can happen but I did feel better hearing the details of how they were keeping the pod safe for our kids and teachers. I did suggest that while the abatement work was happening that the kids should be taught in another space but I don't see that happening.
One thing for sure that I think more parents who attended became aware of is the fact that the district has done an incredibly terrible job of communicating to parents. Period. And that needs to change. We have a new area superintendent (yeah!) and hopefully he is miles better than the last one.
It was also clear in the meeting that the work that has been done has been done only because WorksafeBC has basically demanded it be done, and within time lines. And WorksafeBC only got involved because of callers from parents and teachers calling out of concern. Otherwise WorksafeBC wouldn't have known about the asbestos or the mould and the work wouldn't have been done. I believe the district has been issued a verbal warning of a pretty hefty fine if they do not follow the instructions of WorksafeBC. Another school in the Lower Mainland was issued a large fine for violating the "recommendations" of WorksafeBC for exactly the same kind of asbestos related issues.
When a small group of parents asked Larry in private after the general meeting was over if we could relax now, stop thinking we have to be vigilant with the school we were told "No". We were told we needed to keep looking out and doing what we have been doing in order to ensure the school district does what it's supposed to do.
Larry also addressed the parents and told them that if they have any concerns they should call anytime to WorksafeBC, either anonymously or not and any concerns will be looking into within a 5 day window.
In the end I still think the district will put their bottom line ahead of the health and safety of our children and teachers but at least the process has been started and they are being held accountable and we do have WorksafeBC and Fraser Health to back us up and be there for all of us. There is comfort in that.
Nothing happens overnight and I think we are moving in the right direction but there is a lot of work still ahead.
I'd personally like to step back, take a breather from this and focus on getting ready for Halloween.
But wait, have you seen the ferns growing on the inside of the ceiling in the library? Hmmm...
Wishing you all a wonderful 3 day weekend with your kids! For more information on WorksafeBC, click on the link here to go directly to their site. WorksafeBC website
1 comment:
I also attended the meeting, and was glad that questions had be written out which presented the guests with a schedule to address things.
After the guests had answered the questions set out for them, which they did, there was only a handful of parents that had questions.
This is where things went array. The small group of people that did ask questions seemed to be looking for some sort of accountability in regards to pod 300. The tone to the questions came off as a mad vengeful attitude of a personal nature.
I thought the panel of guests had answered all the questions laid out for them, as well as apologizing for their poor communication during the summer time quite well. When asked some detailed questions about testing procedures PEC answered straight forward. Work Safe BC stated that an anonymous tip had brought them out and that the school district is following the procedures 100% and that things are safe and going well.
I did come out having learned something, all the schools in the Surrey District have some sort of asbestos/vermiculite used in the building materials. And that Peace Arch was one of the few that very small levels. Also that we live in a wet damp environment and Mould spores are 100 times greater in BC than other areas in Canada.
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