6 rural schools in Saskatoon area structurally unsound

Schools in fiverural communities around Saskatoon are being propped up with temporary structural supports and need millions of dollars worth of repairs to be structurally sound.

Parts of schools in Aberdeen, Delisle, Hague, and Hanleywere cordoned offand temporary beams were installed. A supporting beam was also installed in the main corridor atRosthern High School.

The Prairie Spirit School Division saidit has taken the proper precautions and all schools are safe for students, teachersand staff.

"There are a couple of areas in a few of our schools that have been closed because they have been deemed unsafe and the learning is taking place in other areas of the school," said Larry Pavloff, the board chair of the school district.

The school division closed off areas that are considered unstable, including:

• The home economics classroom at Aberdeen Composite School.
• The gym mezzanine at DelisleComposite School.
• The gym storage, servery, counsellor's room, care taking office, care taking storage, and mechanical rooms atHague Elementary School.
• Two classrooms, one entranceand one storage room at Hague High School.
• The drafting classroom, administrative officesand gym mezzanine at HanleyComposite School.

The school division says it hasalso installed temporary structural supports in several schools, including:

• Eight classrooms and one seminar room in Aberdeen Composite School.
• The gym mezzanine in Delisle Composite School.
• The corridor at the gym entrance of Hague Elementary School.
• The corridor at the gym entranceand in the administrative offices at Hague High School.
• The main entrance and administrative offices at Hanley Composite School.
• The main corridor at RosthernHigh School.

The school division saidit's working on a proposal for the provincial Ministry of Educationoutlining financial needs to fix the schools.

The provincial budget meeting is set to take place inMarch, and the school board expects to hear back about their proposal then.

The school boardalso investigated 12 other schoolsbuilt during the 1950s and '60s, which were deemed safe. There are 35 schools in the Prairie Spirit School Division altogether.