Maplewood Secondary School passes occupancy inspection

UPDATE: The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says Maplewood Secondary School passed Thursday's on-site occupancy inspection and is awaiting a formal letter from the City of Ottawa. The board says more details will be shared Friday.

Parents and guardians of students who were supposed to be attending a new high school in Stittsville gathered at a nearby elementary school for a public meeting on the ongoing delays keeping Maplewood Secondary School closed.

Families heard that the City of Ottawa is coming to inspect the school again on Thursday and, if it passes inspection, students should be in their new classrooms by next week.

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The high school was supposed to be open for the new school year, welcoming students in grades 7 to 9, but it didn't have the proper occupancy permits in time for Sept. 3. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) had to go with a backup plan. Grade 7 and 8 students would be bussed to D.A. Moodie Intermediate School in Bells Corners, about 10 kilometres away from Maplewood, while Grade 9 students would be learning from home.

At the end of the first week of school, families were told Maplewood would open Sept. 17 but then, on afternoon of the 16th, they learned the school still wasn't ready. Students, who had been learning at home the Friday and Monday prior to the 17th to give teachers time to prepare their classrooms at Maplewood, were told they would continue their "asynchronous learning" for at least another week alongside.

"There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of defeat. There are children now as young as 11 years old that are being asked to learn from home. These aren’t children that all families are comfortable or should have to leave at home alone," said parent Nichole Nancekivell, whose son Ben is in Grade 9.

"I would just like to know where things went wrong, I think. There has been a lot of implications made, but I’d also like to see the board take some responsibility here as well."

The City of Ottawa said the deficiencies that have kept the school closed related to the fire and life safety systems, including sprinklers, fire alarm, emergency lighting and generator.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, a spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop urged the OCDSB to open the school as soon as possible.

"The delay that students, teachers and parents have experienced is unacceptable. We expect the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to work quickly with their partners to ensure students can get back to learning in class in their new school. It is our expectation that all of the issues causing the delay have been addressed and that the upcoming occupancy inspection results in the opening of Maplewood Secondary School as quickly as possible," spokesperson Edyta McKay said.

OCDSB superintendent of education AJ Keene told the meeting Wednesday that the issues identified by the City of Ottawa on Sept. 16 have been resolved.

Parents at the meeting shared concerns about a lack of communication from the school board.

"We heard tonight that there were concerns in July. I just wish we knew in July because the fact of the matter is the first inkling we had of a concern was August 23rd, one week before school was supposed to start," parent Amber Comisso told CTV News Ottawa.

"To find out at five o'clock at night or eight o'clock at night what the plan is for tomorrow makes it virtually impossible to plan," she added.

The school board had said this week that the general contractor, Tambro Construction, had not provided the OCDSB with an updated occupancy schedule following a failed inspection on Aug. 30.

CTV News Ottawa made multiple attempts to contact Tambro Construction without success.

Maplewood Secondary School will serve approximately 800 students in grades 7 to 9 this school year, adding a grade level every year until it becomes a grades 7 to 12 school by the fall of 2027.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Shaun Vardon and Katelyn Wilson