WEYBURN - An amended preventative maintenance and renewal plan, as presented to the board of trustees of the South East Cornerstone Public School Division by facilities and transportation manager Andy Dobson, was given thoughtful study by the board members before giving it their approval.
The plan was discussed at Wednesday's school board meeting.
The one-year plan is provided in sharper detail, he explained, while years two and three are more or less an agreed on priority listing that remain fairly flexible due to always shifting needs within the division that boasts of 35 school facilities, plus three school bus garages and a division head office and support facilities.
“The first-year estimates are accurate, but it’s difficult to project out,” Dobson said.
With restricted funding and yet with ongoing issues, “if we have to change priorities, we do,” he added.
The priorities “since Day 1, though, has always been roofs, then heating systems and ventilation systems,” he said. In some cases, older schools didn’t even have a regular ventilation system and required updates.
Electrical projects were bundled together for efficiency as well as some safety features, he said.
Lighting fixtures were another item that received some attention recently.
Dobson reported on an ongoing issue with the roofing in place at the newly-constructed Legacy Park Elementary School and the need to call in the roof management inspection system team to do assessments. The issue will be referred back to the general contractor to correct the deficiencies, he said. The warranty had been extended by a year in light of the problems that had been encountered previously as well as the current issue.
Some jobs have to be tendered out, others can be carried out in house, he said. If they come in over budget, they are cancelled since costs can fluctuate significantly. Some jobs will have to be carried over for future attention.
“The beauty with the planning now is that we don’t have to apply to the ministry for the okay for each project,” he said.
Dobson, as well as trustee Jim Vermeersch, also noted that a bus driver recruitment fair is being planned in June and Dobson added that a recent email program resulted in 12 resumés being posted with expectations of the applicants becoming school bus drivers. He said later that spare drivers are always needed with drivers right now needed in the Moosomin, Radville and Carnduff regions.
