Moncton High reopens after structural repairs

Moncton High School is open again after being closed for more than a week while workers fixed some corroding steel beams that were holding up part of the 75-year-old school.

The school's 1,300 students were forced to miss classes last week so workers could fix six structural columns in the school.

Aubrey Kirkpatrick, the spokesperson for School District 2, said last week's repairs were just part of an almost endless list of problems that keep coming up.

"We've done close to 250 different jobs in that school in a year and a half alone so it's ongoing and we continue to monitor it daily," Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick said workers have moved on to two other parts of the school that need work.

"There are two areas that are closed off right now, one is a classroom that we're doing some exterior masonry work to try to mitigate water coming in," Kirkpatrick said.

He said that should take two or three days.

In the meantime, that classroom and the old gym have also been sealed off.

The ceiling tiles are full of stains and workers are going up to see what's causing that and if it can be fixed.

Last week's repairs were estimated to cost $50,000.

Kirkpatrick said for now the repairs are being covered by the Department of Supply and Services and he said it's the district's hope that will continue.

School's future

Kirkpatrick said all these latest problems will be sent to the consultant who is studying what to do with the old high school.

The Department of Education and the school district are studying whether to continue to fix up the aging school, tear it down or some combination of the two.

Ontario-based CS&P Architects said it could cost $48 million to bring the school up to building code. Many new schools are expected to have a life of 30 years.

Moncton High School opened in 1935.

Some ofthe school'srooms are now closed because they don't meet modern fire codes.

Its roofing, flooring and walls need to be replaced, and upgrades have to be made to the attic and exterior stone walls, according to a 2009 architect's report. In addition, plaster walls containing asbestos have to be removed.

The building, known for its Gothic exterior, features three storeys of sandstone, arched bays and massive wooden doors.