Province-wide school inspection reports confirm that all Prince Edward Island schools are safe and healthy, says Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie.

“Every student, teacher and staff member is entering a safe and healthy school,” said Minister Currie. “Our government has put the health and safety of schools as a top priority, not only by fixing the immediate problems but by professionalizing and modernizing the maintenance of our schools.”

The reports detail all progress made to schools as part of the province-wide school inspections. They include a detailed analysis by a property management team as a follow-up to the findings by the independent assessment done in November 2010. The property management team consists of an infrastructure expert from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, property and finance managers from each school district and board, as well as the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

In June, the department announced a $17.4 million plan to remediate water infiltration problems. It includes the rebuilding of Spring Park Elementary School and renovations to Morell Consolidated School and Bluefield High School. Spring Park will open by early 2013. The renovations needed for Morell Consolidated School will be complete by January 2012, and Bluefield High School will be complete by early October 2011.

All Island schools are a part of this plan. They have been inspected and given a level of remediation and status of completion. As much work as possible has been done during the summer to avoid any possible disruption during the school year. Remedial work is ongoing at several schools.

“There were no major problems found in any of the schools, as the reports indicate,” said Minister Currie. “By addressing minor problems now and implementing a rigorous ongoing preventative maintenance program, we are ensuring the health and safety of our schools into the future.”

School inspection progress reports for all schools in the Western School Board, Eastern School District and La Commission scolaire de langue française are up to date and available online. To view the reports, visit www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/schoolinspections.