Nanaimo-Ladysmith school board has given final approval, and planning can now begin to re-open Rutherford Elementary School to students in the catchment.
At the June 22 board meeting, trustees unanimously voted to re-open the north Nanaimo school to the community in either 2024 or 2025, dependent on October 2022-23 enrolment. The school closed in 2018 and is currently serving as a ‘swing school’ for students during Pleasant Valley Elementary School seismic upgrades.
Work to upgrade data and wi-fi, add water bottle filling stations and improve heating and ventilation was completed to prepare for Pleasant Valley students. In an e-mail, the district said further improvements have been discussed with school principal Diane McGonigle.
A 2016 report from KMBR Architects Planners Inc. stated a two-storey classroom block is categorized as “high risk,” while other sections were classified as “either low or moderate risk.” However, building codes have changed, and while seismic work at the school was included as part of the 2023-24 five-year major capital plan, the district said the updated building code is seeing a “majority” of schools becoming part of the province’s seismic mitigation program.
“There are other schools that have a higher seismic safety rating than Rutherford,” the district said in an e-mail. “The district is striving alongside our partners in the Ministry of Education to ensure seismic safety and that will ultimately include a Rutherford upgrade.”
Trustees said they were happy to see the school re-opening. Charlene McKay, school board chairperson, said seeing the building full of students “all these years later” and seeing “all of the work that’s been done” was moving.
“What was really obvious to me was the bike racks used to be full and they weren’t full any more because the kids are coming from somewhere else and so I’m looking forward to seeing this work come to fruition…” she said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into doing this type of stuff and shifting kids in and out of schools and whatever that might look like, when we consult with the community, it’s a lot of change and I think that the change, ultimately, is going to be OK. We’re going to have to do that work very thoughtfully.”
As part of the motion to re-open Rutherford, the district will also re-configure boundaries for schools in the area, including Frank J. Ney, McGirr and Randerson Ridge.
RELATED: Trustees vote on re-opening Rutherford Elementary School
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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