On the first day of the school year, parents and students of Hazel Trembath Elementary School in Port Coquitlam are calling on the provincial government for answers.
Gathering at the site of the burned-down building, they want to know when the school will be rebuilt.
Shawna Comey has two children who attended the school and she hopes they’re able to return sooner than later.
“We’re kind of waiting in limbo,” Comey told 1130 NewsRadio on Tuesday. “We don’t know what the year holds. We don’t know what the next two years hold.”
“My daughter is going into Grade 3, so I would like to see her back in Port Coquitlam in our school community for her Grade 4 or Grade 5 year. It’s the unknown. If they don’t plan to rebuild, then what’s going to happen?”
At the end of the previous school year, she says the district sent the Ministry of Education three options.
“The ministry asked for three different proposal options. The first one was a traditional rebuild, which would be three to five years. The second option would be a modular prefab build, which would be 18 months to two years, is what we were told. That’s the one I was kind of hoping for,” Comey explained.
“And the third option was not rebuilding at all and dispersing the kids between two community schools and adding on additions to those schools, and that’s what we hope doesn’t happen.”
She feels sending kids to other schools doesn’t make sense because most are already at capacity.
“I think there’s a need [to rebuild], too. Our area is quite rapidly growing, so for me it would be a no-brainer, but I’m not the one who has the money to say, ‘Yes, let’s do this.’”
The provincial government previously said it was committed to rebuilding the school but hasn’t released any details since.
Overall, Comey isn’t sure how to feel as her children head back to school.
“I’m happy that there was a solution for my kids to go to another school. It’s not ideal by any means. They are being school-bussed to another community. They have shortened days. They don’t have a proper playground at their school. They don’t get music class. They get a shortened lunch and recess,” she said.
“There are some pros, but also a lot of cons. It’s not much of a school community feel anymore when you’re just meeting the kids at the bus stop.”
She adds parents don’t get face to face time with teachers or staff at the temporary facility, adding communication is often done via email.
The displaced students are attending the Winslow Centre in Coquitlam, which is a roughly 20- to 25-minute ride away for most children.
Hazel Trembath Elementary burned to the ground on Oct. 14, 2023. The fire was deemed suspicious.
“At this time, we believe that the fire was human-caused and are asking those responsible or those individuals who may know who is responsible to contact the Coquitlam RCMP,” said Coquitlam RCMP Insp. Darren Carr in March.
“We understand that the loss of the school has had a tremendous impact on the entire community and police continue to actively pursue this complex investigation.”