Starting this Summer, WorkSafe BC will be going through Prince George schools and facilities to look for signs of asbestos.
The agency is enforcing all districts, including SD57, to create and conduct an Asbestos Management Plan in time for the 2018-19 year.
Board Chair Tim Bennett says a funding request will be submitted to the BC Ministry of Education to help pay for the plan.
“So our hope is that the Ministry is going to cover that, but if not, the Board has authorized $180,000 out of our $2.8 million of unappropriated surplus to cover the creation of this plan.”
#SD57 CAPITAL PLAN: Asbestos Management plan approved; using $180k of budget surplus to meet @WorkSafeBC requirements | #CityOfPG @mypgnow
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) June 21, 2017
In an effort to combat all possibilities, Bennett says teachers and staff will be asked to be a part of the process as well.
“This plan is to ensure that we identify exactly where there may be asbestos in our buildings, and train our staff to identify and be able to address where we may have asbestos in our district buildings.”
He adds between 40-50 buildings will be assessed and it’s important to the district that everyone works and learns in a healthy environment.
“We have to ensure that we have a safe, clean environment for our students, for our staff, and for the community users that use our buildings day-in-and-day-out. Through Education Services, we’ve been monitoring those schools, and we want to make sure that we can do everything we can to bring those levels even lower.”
The Board will submit its request for the funds at the end of June; the decision was made at Tuesday night’s final meeting of the 2016-17 school year.
