Rutland Middle upgrade can’t wait any longer

Editor: Once again after almost 50 years of banter, school board officials, more recently chairwoman Moyra Baxter, address the need for a new Rutland Middle School.

If ever there was an outdated fire-prone school in the Central Okanagan, this is it. Having spent a number of hours over the years while writing news copy for the Kelowna Daily Courier, no one could be more cognitive of the possible pre-existing fire dangers this building had and does present to both past and present students and staff.

This building is an outdated wooden structure consisting of upstairs, downstairs and ground-level classrooms with hallways packed with hundreds of students during a class change.

If the reality of the situation, ignored for over 50 years, has not been considered, we as a community are as much to blame.

In the past few months, Reg Volk has attempted to awaken the sleeping giant while addressing the subject in his Daily Courier column. His more recent columns were followed by a “yeah, we’ve heard that one before” response and the impression the reality and fire dangers of this building are still not fully understood.

Get off your chairs, my friends, and get your backsides up and running. Don’t just consider waiting for the inevitable to happen, and call for immediate tenders to re-build one of the most hazardous and outdated schools in the district. You are awaiting a class-action lawsuit should it unfortunately happen.

Arlene Gaal, Kelowna