Five Nanaimo schools were identified as high-priority schools for seismic upgrades, but are not among the 14 buildings the province is including in its next round of upgrades.
The B.C. government is spending $122 million to earthquake-proof 14 schools in 12 districts, selected from a list of 152 high-priority schools.
Among those 152 schools are Brechin Elementary, Cilaire Elementary, Departure Bay Elementary, North Cedar Intermediate and Pleasant Valley Elementary. All were rated in the High 3 category.
The ministry of eduction indicated that seismic mitigation projects will be approved over the next 10 years, in order of the level of risk.
Nanaimo has 25 schools rated as medium risk, two as low risk and seven that do not require any seismic mitigation.
The estimated cost of upgrading all 152 high-priority schools under the program is $1.3 billion.
According to the Ministry of Education, the provincial government has spent more than $790 million on school seismic upgrades since 2001.
While no Nanaimo schools were included in this round of funding, plans are proceeding for upgrades at Wellington Secondary, which received funding approval in 2005, a press release from the school district states.
