Barrie Central Collegiate students may forced out of their classrooms this winter, if the school's archaic, unreliable heating system fails during cold weather.
"The complete failure of the Barrie Central heating system is only a matter of time as to when it takes place," said John Dance, Superintendent of Facility Services at the Simcoe County District School Board.
"The core problems encountered in this scenario have not changed as we have witnessed with the ongoing issues with the heating system."
If the system fails or needs extensive, lengthy repairs, the school will be closed during the winter - either temporarily or permanently. Central will move into Barrie North Collegiate and a "twin school" schedule will be followed.
In order to accommodate two school populations separately, the Barrie North students would attend school from 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. each day and Central students would attend from 12:15 to 5:00 p.m.
The slighly shorter school days would include four 60-minute learning periods and a 40-minute lunch period.
"It is the SCDSB’s intention to make every effort to maintain the students and staff in a safe and well-maintained learning and working environment at Barrie Central until June 2016 and/or make every effort to return students and staff back to Barrie Central as soon as possible, if the situation arises," Dance wrote in a report to the Board.
During this school year, there have been at least eight instances where leaks in the steam piping system at Central have caused the system to be closed down in order to complete repairs.
Significant leaks in pipes in areas that are not easily accessible for repair work have been addressed.
The result of leaks is that high pressure water leaves the system. resulting in a drop in pressure and a system that cannot provide heat to the builing.
"Should leaks of this nature take place when the system is heating the building, the resulting steam makes repair work more time consuming, challenging and cost prohibitive," Dance explained.
One time the school cafeteria was closed in order to have contracted services cut through the cafeteria floor in order to allow staff to reach the area of concern.
A report from the business and facilities standing committee states that the building mechanical systems within the school "are beyond their expected serviceable life, and significant maintenance has been required to keep the mechanical systems operational.
"The risk of an imminent partial or total failure of the heating and all other building mechanical systems continues to increase with time," Dance explained.
During one repair, the school's cafeteria was closed to allow contractors to dig through the floor to access broken pipes. The repair was completed and during the pressure test the pipe burst about 15 feet away from the original repair - adding expense and disruption.
Also, the presence of asbestos throughout the building elevates the cost and difficulty of making repairs.
Since September 1, repairs to the mechanical/heating/plumbing systems have cost about $15,000. In 2014/15, the Board spent over $67,000 with 90 service calls .
Barrie Central Collegiate is scheduled to close at the end of June.
