Wabaseemoong Nation school closed to deal with mold and structural problems
From http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/News/280768.html
Whitedog school closed until further notice
By Mike Aiken - Miner and News - Monday January 15, 2007
Roughly 230 students at Wabaseemoong First Nation School have been told to stay home this week as the community addresses air quality issues in the facility.
Band councillor Waylon Scott said they’re concerned about illnesses related to mold and airborne asbestos.
“The principal’s been flooded with calls from concerned parents,” he said Monday morning.
The beleaguered building has been the subject of studies and makeshift repairs in recent years, as the First Nation and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada argued over plans for new construction.
National Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations and Treaty Grand Chief Arnold Gardner have both been involved in lobbying efforts to speed up the approval process, after overcrowding forced a teacher to give up the front room of their home to make way for a classroom.
The staff room has also been converted to a special education room for 12 children, as staff tried to deal with 320 students last fall. Scott said some students may be staying home because they weren’t getting enough help with their lessons, while parents may be keeping their children home over health concerns.
Complaints have included headaches and nausea, with adult staff also reporting concerns, Scott added. The principal had recommended the closure of the school. His decision has since been supported by band council.
Scott also said the air quality concerns were part of a report done for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada two years ago, which were confirmed by a new independent study.
Indian and Northern Affairs spokesman Tony Prudori confirmed the situation at the school, saying it would be closed from Jan. 15 to 19 for repairs. He noted Health Canada had been called to help deal with the air quality issues.
Prudori noted the department had made $220,000 available for repairs to the school, which were completed before the end of 2005 and included the heating and ventilation system. Indian Affairs has also offered to pay for a portable in order to ease overcrowding, he said.
Prudori added the department is continuing to work with the First Nation, in light of the most recent report, again offering financial assistance to carry out repairs.
A spokesman for the minister’s office in Gatineau, Que., Patricia Valladeo, said they were hoping to schedule a meeting later this week, but weren’t able to release details. She also wasn’t able to comment on the details of the reports, but said she would be looking into both matters.
A new building to replace the 34-year-old school could cost $18 million, with design and tendering processes yet to be completed. The existing structure was built on clay, which means the foundation is sinking, leading to problems with shifting walls, bent door frames and the electrical panel separating from the wall in the maintenance area.
Problems with heating led to burst pipes last Christmas, which meant there was a flood in the gym that led to the buckling of wooden floorboards.
The Treasury Board Secretariat was expected to provide preliminary project approval by the end of January, setting the stage for detailed design work and more precise cost estimates.
The process was not supposed to be delayed by the recent cabinet shuffle, in which former president John Baird made way for Vic Toews.
Whitedog is a community of about 1,700, including 878 living on-reserve, which is located about an hour’s drive northeast of Kenora.