GBHS’s building shuffle
Golden Bay High School principal Roger File. Photo: Neil Wilson.
Golden Bay High School’s two-storey block was closed last Friday because it was described as “totally unsafe in the event of an earthquake” by a consulting engineer. Standards for earthquake safety were introduced in the 1970s, well after the condemned building was constructed.
The 60-year-old block contains eight classrooms, the staffroom, toilets and teacher resource rooms. The school’s new boiler is also attached to the block. The school has had to be very creative in the last week to accommodate the students who would normally have been in classes in the block.
It will be business as usual – or as usual as possible – at the school while the building is out of action.
“Our priority is to keep things as normal as possible,” says principal Roger File. “We will be making sure that the students who are sitting NCEA at the three levels are not disadvantaged in any way.”
Mr File said that it was almost certain that four “flatpacks” of prefabricated classrooms were on their way to Golden Bay.
“Each one of them is a double-classroom block with some office space. We’ll be making decisions about where they will go. We want them to be reasonably central but we don’t want to invade PE space or playing fields.”
Mr File explained that the school had made it clear to the Ministry of Education that the eight temporary classrooms are “the absolute minimum” the school needs to continue functioning normally. They have also been very clear to stress that the prefabs are a medium-term solution only.
“There has been no decision yet about the long-term future of the two-storey building. We have to do lots more talking to the ministry. I believe there is still more engineering examination to go on before a decision can be made. Our new boiler is an integral part of the building and we have no choice; we have to keep using that. There’s also a lot of IT equipment there, including components of our computer server. We are shifting stuff out but we won’t be stripping everything out before a decision is made about the long-term solution.”
West Coast-Tasman MP Chris Auchinvole has commended the school for having the building surveyed. He also conveyed his sympathies for the disruption.
“I want to congratulate Mr File and the school on their vigilance in anticipating the problems. It certainly seems to have been borne out. I have written to the minister to ask about the levels of support that will be necessary. I’m sure she has everything under control but I want to do anything I can to help.”
Mr File said that the ministry has been “very responsive” so far in all his dealings with them over the closure. The reality of the situation is never far from people’s minds - when the earthquake centred west of Taupo shook Golden Bay last Tuesday, Mr File was on the phone to the ministry in Christchurch.
Neil Wilson
