'I think this was the end of Bishop Feild Elementary': Parents speak out on future of school

Some parents are vowing not to let their kids step back into Bishop Feild Elementary unless massive renovations are done and that's if the school reopens at all.

"That don't give a parent a very good feeling to know that your child could be in the classroom, sat down, and all of a sudden, boom! It's down on top of them," says Linda Nicklassen.

"I'm not going to be sending my son back there with a Band-Aid fix."

• More problems with ceilings in Bishop Feild, engineering report shows
• Bishop Feild Elementary shut down after concrete collapses from gym ceiling

A report by Nova Consultants Inc. warns there are "several other areas of concern" when it comes to ceiling corrosion in the downtown St. John's school.

The engineering consulting firm was tapped to undertake a review after a part of the gym's ceiling collapsed on Oct. 24.

Samples taken from the gym ceiling showed "advanced corrosion," while samples fromclassroom ceilings varied and even "disintegrated into a dust form," according to the report.

The report lists multiple issues, and calls for removing all plaster ceilings.

Nicklassen wants that done and more.

"Make sure repairs are done every ceiling took down, every ceiling repaired," she said.

"Everything that they have on their recommendation [list] should be done before that school is allowed to reopen."

Not that alarming

But another parent insists the report isn't as bad as it may seem.

"Initially it was a little bit startling,"said Brad Stone, who is also chair of the school council.

"Really, it boils down to two or three pages and it boils down to twoor threeissues, most of which we were pretty well aware of,"

He said the ceilingsand leaks need to be addressed, but many of the issues highlighted in the report are "pretty standard things in a lot of reports," such asfire safety and accessibility standards.

"So a lot of those things, they have to mention them. It would be great if we could fix them but this is a heritage property," he said.

"I mean, you can't really bring everything up to today's codes in a building of this age, unfortunately."

Stone and Nicklassendo agree on one thing:that there is a major lack of information.

"There is a lot of uncertainty right now," said Stone.

Nicklassen said there is "no timeline anymore" since another, more in-depth review of the building is required.

"Everything has been very hush-hush. Raises a big question as to what's going on," she added.

'A stretch' to be done by Christmas

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District admits there is a lot of work to be done.

"Christmas is a marker that we have right now, we were hoping to achieve, not sure ifwe're going to be able to do that," said interim CEO Tony Stack, who said there is no estimate on costs for repairs as of now.

"It would be a stretch though to think that we could get back in before Christmas ... we'll have to see."

In an emailed statement to CBC on Thursday, the Departmentof Transportation and Works said it is working with the school district "to determine the best approach to a more comprehensive assessment of Bishop Feild Elementary as soon as possible."

But Nicklassen said even if school officialsand other parents aren't saying it, she believes the school won't reopen.

"It's too much work. It's going to be easier to either repair one of the other schools that are around ... or build a new one," she said.

"I think this was the end of Bishop Feild Elementary."