While the inside of the new Westview Elementary School is nearly complete, outside work has been hampered by the weather. School District 47 officials announced Tuesday, January 29, that they are pushing back the school’s occupancy date to September 2013.
“With this change, we can ensure that all activity areas will be ready for use and the transition to the new building can be done with a minimum of disruption for students and staff,” wrote Jay Yule, superintendent of schools, in a press release.
Work is progressing on finishing classrooms and completing the installation of millwork, such as cupboards, counters and door casings.
Bleachers, basketball backboards, a folding stage and a dividing curtain in the gymnasium will be completed this week and then the hardwood gym floor will receive its last two coats of finish. In other areas of the building, flooring and millwork still needs to be completed and next month the building’s mechanical systems will be installed.
Tentatively, the district planned to move Grief Point Elementary School into the facility over the two weeks of spring break from March 18 to 28.
“Site work is behind schedule, due in part to unfavourable weather conditions that have been prevalent for much of the past three months, and logistics at the site,” wrote Yule. “It’s been recommended that we give the grass areas and field time to take root.”
The district expects the school to serve the needs of Westview for much of the 21st century.
“We look forward to showcasing this magnificent facility to the entire community,” added Yule.
Staff and parents of Grief Point have welcomed the news.
“It’s kind of nice to have that decision because obviously if [the move] was going to happen we’d have only about six weeks to initiate our plans,” said Jamie Burt, school principal. “It would be exciting, but busier.” He added that it doesn’t make sense to move into the new school if areas are still to be completed.
“If the stars had aligned and we had that window to get in, we would have taken it,” he said, “but as with all, that’s the way things go.”
Kelly Davies, who is a member of the Grief Point Parent Advisory Council, agrees with Burt.
“My daughter will be going there in September,” she said. “I like that they’re waiting, so it’ll be a little less chaotic for them. I’d rather [the new school] be 100 per cent done so my daughter can use the playground, than half done and she’s restricted. It’s just nice to know one way or the other. I just feel really bad for the grade sevens. They have been so gung-ho about this school. They’ve been waiting and waiting and now they’re just going to go to high school.”
There may be an opportunity for students to use parts of the school, such as the gym, before the end of this school year, Burt said. This would give the students a chance to see inside the school before attending classes there in September.
