Response A

Response B - from Kits PAC SRSM Committee Chair

Response C - from T. Monk

CHART COMPARING SEATTLE AND  VANCOUVER PROGRESS ON SEISMIC UPGRADING OF SCHOOLS, prepared by FSSS volunteer T. Monk

See note on KitsPAC SRSM Committee log for 2008May20 T. Monk meeting with the UBC Engineering Prof. for the questions received from this canvassing.


Source: NYT (5/25/08):

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html

 Grief in the Rubble
 Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled
 By JIM YARDLEY


-----Original Message-----
From: Tracy Monk  (Tracy volunteers for both Families for School Seismic Safety and Kits PAC School Renewal - Seismic Mitigation Committee)
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 9:39 AM
To: Kits PAC School Renewal - Seismic Mitigation Committee
Subject: progress to date

 

Hi all

 

I thought I would share the 2 attachements:

 

Another story from China about schools . . . and the fact that public officials knew these buildings were at risk

 

A summary of progress to date on this issue in our district since the Premier's commitment of 2004. This was put together by an FSSS parent - please send me any comments you may have about the summary as presented in the excel spreadsheet.

 

3) I am meeting again on Tuesday with Carlos Ventura the UBC Prof who I have been working with for years on this issue and who was at Think Schools and was also  one of the engineers who has contributed to the UN and OECD`s work on the school seismic issue globally . . . Engineers have been watching schools fail globally, often dispropritionately, and have had a crisis of conscience about trying to see the problem addressed. There have been several earthquakes in the world in which more children died than adults when the quake happened during school hours. Does anyone have any questiosn for him. . .

 

4) FSSS did an FOI to BC Building corp several years ago to get some idea of how risk in school buildings compared to risk in other provincially held infrastructure.

- 30% of schools in the province were rated as high risk
- 2% of non-educational provincial buildings assessed  were considered at high risk,

(a rough comparison)

Last year - a commitment was made to fast track an upgrade of the legislature. As FSSS has often pointed out, prisons were also upgraded, and heritage retained  in many cases when thsi was done . . . even the liquor branch has been unpgraded, along with bridges, tunnels, dams etc . . . and in each case . . no one has had to ask . .


...

Public officials know our children and teachers are in a high risk building.

We know it.

Is there any way that this committee can begin to find ways to come together on solutions that will speed progres instead of slow it?  Can our goal be to try to see this addressed as rapidly as possible  in a way that gives us beautiful educational infrastruture we can all feel proud of . . 

This is not about fear mongering. It is about having our priorites in the right place. 

No one knows what the hand of fate may hold, but at the end of the day we need to be able to say we`ve done our best to see this addressed, and at the moment, I`m not sure we can say that.

Tracy