Port Coquitlam parents rally to pressure province to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary School

Port Coquitlam parents are putting pressure on the province to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary School.

On Tuesday, well over 100 parents and students held a rally on the now-empty school grounds. It was attended by all of Port Coquitlam council, and several Coquitlam School Board members.

Anand Kanna, an alumnus and parent of a student at the element, led the crowd with “Rebuild Hazel” chants.

“This was not simply a place to learn, this was a place to grow,” Kanna said. “We need it back. . . . The anchor of our community is gone.”

Hazel Trembath Elementary was completely destroyed in the early morning hours on Oct. 14 by what police deemed a suspicious fire.

Since that date, its students have been bussed every morning from their former school to Winslow Centre, which is a long-decommissioned Coquitlam middle school about 20 minutes away.

Kanna said the purpose of the rally was twofold: recognize students, teachers, and education assistants who have been learning and working under extremely difficult conditions; and push the provincial government to rebuild the school.

“Be a pest. It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Become squeaky wheels. Write to them. Email them,” Kanna said. “We need to push the powers that be to make a decision on this quickly.”

Following the fire, the province told parents the school would be rebuilt, but it has yet to make a financial commitment.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, who is also an alumnus and parent at the school, said that while provincial officials said all the right things after the fire, they need to “take those words and turn it into action.”

“No more delay, no more dithering, no more forcing the school district to look at all sorts of options, including dispersing our kids,” West said. “If you’re gonna rebuild the school, rebuild it.”

The lack of news spurred action from parents, who said the changes have put stresses on their childrens’ education and their schedules.

Alaina Milicecic, a parent of two students at the school, said the “fun and novelty has really worn off” the daily field trips. She said she’s constantly worried about missing the morning bus, and is sometimes forced to drive in the morning after finishing her night shift.

“You don’t think about how far 20 minutes is until you have to do it,” Milicecic said. “I really shouldn’t be driving at 9 a.m.”

Winslow Centre was previously being used as a resource centre, but the Coquitlam School District converted the space to find room for 10 classrooms. Milicecic said her daughters are in a classroom where two classes were combined, resulting in more than 50 students being taught under two teachers in one room.

There also is not an adequate playground for elementary school students, added Milicecic.

Her daughters said it’s sometimes harder to follow lessons due to the noise, and that they simply “walk around” during lunch hour.

Kanna added the uncertainty around the school’s rebuild has bred rumours the site would be replaced by a residential development.

“If there’s no answers, people are going to start pontificating, start wondering what’s going on, and the rumours start to fly,” he said. “And that builds the community into a frenzy.”

West also said that he’s heard one or two developers had shown interest in the site, but said council would never support any proposal other than a school and preservation of the park and greenspace.

“I want to be crystal clear. It’s not going to happen,” West said.

Michael Thomas, chair of the Coquitlam School Board, said the board passed its capital plan last week, which listed the rebuilding of Hazel Trembath Elementary as the number one priority. He said they are awaiting support from the province, which needs to provide the funding.

Just prior to the rally, Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth said on social media he and the NDP were “fully committed to rebuilding” the school.

“(We) are united w PoCo to provide families a new school so our kids can learn, grow, & thrive closer to home,” Mike Farnworth said. “Your voices have been heard loud and clear.”

Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tri-Cities Dispatch