Maintenance costs, vandalism on the rise as CBRM looks to offload 8 schools
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality continues to seek occupants or buyers for eight former school buildings before they are declared surplus and demolished.
They are among 17 schools being shut down by Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board due to declining enrolment.
The schools are:
- Bridgeport School, Glace Bay
- East Bay Elementary, East Bay
- Gowrie Memorial School, Port Morien
- MacDonald Elementary, Dominion
- MacLennan Middle School, Westmount
- Mount Carmel Elementary, New Waterford
- St. Agnes, New Waterford
- St. Joseph's Elementary, Sydney Mines.
Growing costs
The price tag of maintaining the schools is mounting, especially during the winter, said Allan Clarke, building manager for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
"The huge challenge right now is the cost. It's a big, big cost for CBRM," he said.
"We have heating costs which are huge, we have electrical costs which are huge, we have monitoring alarm costs."
Right now the buildings are being assessed and title searches completed.
One option is for community organizations to purchase them. If not, they'll be put up for sale or declared surplus and torn down.
Frank Angot purchased
While St. Agnes remains empty, the former Frank Angot School — part of the same complex — has been purchased by Wilson's Home Hardware to expand its operation.
"Going from 4,500 square feet to 19,000 square feet [will] give us more display area, more stock, more product," said store manager D.J. Symms.
The expanded store is expected to open in March.
Bridgeport School is currently being used by Basketball Cape Breton, but that's only a temporary solution.
Hard hit by vandalism
Clarke said vandalism is one of the problems associated with the empty buildings.
MacLennan Middle School is particularly a target, he said, with police getting calls and alarms going off once or twice a week.
Even though the building is boarded up and there's an alarm system, vandals are defacing it with graffiti and breaking in.
"When they break in, they just want to destroy things ... holes in walls, tearing things apart, things of that nature," said Clarke.
