Resolutions on radon testing and stopping for buses pass at BC Parent Advisory Council meeting

The BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC) held its Annual General Meeting last weekend. The confederation meets every year to discuss the state of schools and education in the province and to pass resolutions put forward by various school districts.

“It was terrific – we had a motion for increased penalties for failing to stop for school buses,” says Sarah Holland, chair of School District 57’s Parent Advisory Committee.

In 2015, the Peace River North School District’s Transportation department recorded the number of motorists who passed stopped school buses with flashing red lights. Between April 15 and June 25, stopped buses were past at least once per day.

“The penalty is not high for failing to stop for school buses,” says Holland. “Right now it’s $167.”

Drivers also receive 3 demerit points on their licenses. In Alberta, driver’s can be fined $400 and in Ontario, the fines range from $400 up to $2,000, depending on the driver’s previous infractions.

Holland says the BCCPAC resolution would see BC’s fines raised to $368 with 6 demerit points on offending drivers’ licenses. She says they’re not the only organization calling for a boost to the consequences of failing to yield to school buses.

“The BC School Trustees Association recently passed a resolution to raise the fine to the same as driving without due care and there is actually an expectation that this one may go through,” she says.

That wasn’t the only resolution concerning student safety discussed at the meeting. Holland says DPAC 57’s radon testing resolution was also passed.

“Our radon testing resolution was actually worked on with another school district,” she say. “They had some very strong feelings about it in Kootenay Lake. I think that may well have passed unanimously.”

It’s been 20 years since schools in SD57 were tested for radon. During that time, safety standards have changed and many energy efficiency upgrades, which can trap radon in buildings, have been done.

“We’re asking that BCCPAC produce information for all schools, PACs and DPACs on the hazards of radon,” says Holland. “Make this available to members and we advocate for all districts to complete long term testing for radon in all school facilities.”

Schools found to have unsafe levels of radon would then need to undertake remediation efforts. But it could be a while before any schools in BC even get to the testing stage.

“From a BCCPAC point of view, they would be writing to the Ministry and to the various school districts asking that there be this radon testing,” says Holland. “We have this co-governance within the school system. So the Ministry of Education is responsible for education. It’s the various school districts that are responsible for the buildings and the decisions around the buildings. The Ministry of Education wouldn’t be able to say to the districts, ‘You must do this.’”

There’s also the issue of funding. While long term radon testing is relatively inexpensive – a test kit for a single family home is $35 – remediation can run anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500 per building.

The Ministry of Education has previously said that it expects school districts with any potential concerns about radon to connect with local health authorities to determine a plan of action. The Ministry says Northern Health is prepared to work with districts and provide advice on how to conduct testing. No word on where funding for the tests or any potential remediation efforts would come from.

For a complete list of resolutions from this year’s BCCPAC AGM, you can visit their website.