Plans for Duchess Park Replacement Hit A Snag

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 03:50 AM

KGV’s demolition last year was part of plans for Duchess Park’s Replacement

The Ministry of Education has raised a red flag over School District 57’s plans for a 900-student replacement school for Duchess Park Secondary.

In a letter sent to SD 57, dated January 15 of this year, Assistant Deputy Minister, Keith Miller, writes that the ministry will provide capital plan funding of $25.5-million dollars to support a 650-capacity school.

Miller goes on to say, "thereby requiring the Board to contribute approximately $5.5-million dollars in local capital and restricted capital funds generated from the disposal of surplus capital assets [ie. the sale of now-closed schools] for the cost of the additional 250 student spaces."

The District is planning for the new school to house not only 600 Duchess Park students, but 300 French Immersion Program students and 50 Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique students.

Miller says that, as per the government’s recently established policy requiring that a public-private partnership be considered for all capital projects exceeding $20-million, Partnerships BC will review this project to, "determine if there is any opportunity for a public-private partnership or alternative procurement method which would be more beneficial to government and the school district."

The letter is contained in the agenda for this evening’s regular board meeting which begins at 7pm in the Boardroom of the District office at 2100 Ferry Avenue.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 03:50 AM in News by Michelle Cyr-Whiting

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Comments

Posted by: jonnypg on January 30 2007 4:51 AM

Seems like where getting nailed for everything lately,

Posted by: Gofaster on January 30 2007 5:55 AM

Very observant there jonnypg.

Posted by: postman on January 30 2007 8:39 AM

And the Olympics won't cost us anything, eh? Well, that money could offset the cost of numerous more impt. facilities and services, not to mention support for our university that is now in layoff mode. I wish someone would disconnect that pump that keeps blowing up politicians heads taht makes them akin to an overinflated BC Place.

Posted by: travism on January 30 2007 9:51 AM

Of course they are gonna screw us. What are we going to do go on strike? We don't have the population base to justify keeping us happy. So far they have backed out of a bridge, a school, another bridge, timely delivery of health care, a environmental disaster etc. And they don't have to worry, we can't vote them out.

Posted by: postman on January 30 2007 1:51 PM

Not true - we can vote them out, at least in our little corner of the world. Unfortuately we have too many voters in this community who seem to enjoy the abuse as they keep voting in Shirley and her band of buffoons.

Posted by: Gofaster on January 30 2007 4:11 PM

Actually it is Campbell and his minah birds

Posted by: Gofaster on January 30 2007 4:13 PM

An this would be surprise how?
The government has been doing this for awhile now.... saying one thing and making it look like they are going to do it and then find out that they only said they would start, not that they would finish it....
I am ready for a vote of "I don't like what your are doing to the province"...anyone else?

Posted by: Harbinger on January 30 2007 4:54 PM

"I don't like what yer doing to the province?" That was probably repeated in moving vans as some people moved to Alberta. It is called "voting with your feet". Make a memo so you'll remember if you decide to leave.

Posted by: Chadermando on January 30 2007 7:37 PM

IMO its all about finding a way for private/public partnerships for this government.

Its all part of the plan to downsize government at the expense of citizens and for the benefit of multinationals or big business in general who have now eclipsed our government as the primary influence on how we are able to live our lives. Soon there will be no government to downsize, and we will be at the mercy of big-corp starting with disasters, followed by war, and eventually governments 'of the people-for the people', will be only found in our history books.

First it was our roads, then it was our gas, ferries, railways, and hydro, and soon it will be our water supply itself and the raising of your children.

Posted by: owl on January 30 2007 10:51 PM

"and the raising of your children."

Huh???? You mean we are going to have to go back to raise our children on our own? We will need to get some training for that!

;-)

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BTW, this stuff is not news. It was already public knowledge at about the time when the contract was awarded to tear down the two schools (one converted to an SD admin building). They were going for a deadline of April of this year to get working drawings with a fixed price to the Ministry. Then we discover that the SD and the Ministry is not of like mind waht the size of the school ought to be.

I am sorry, but I am going to argue the other side of this. The SD has been closing schools. It has been renting out or selling them whenever they can. It sounds like there is another RFP (request for proposal) out for one of them.

So, it would seem to stand to reason that one can put the functions they wish to build new space for into an existing school. It would likely be cheaper to do some altertions to a building which is built like a Brick Chit House than to build brand new space.

Here we are talking about saving money in the City on other threads, but with this we are taking the view that we are not getting fair treatment. It's all tax dollars, people.