Was
there a conscious and deliberate decision taken, in 2014, to cover up an
incident involving the collapse of a cinder block wall at Roncalli School?
Who
knew of the incident? And who took the decision to bury the issue?
These
questions are just a beginning.
Who
would argue safety at a school is an imperative?
It
seems not everyone.
The provincial
government chose to permit Roncalli School, located in the Airport Heights area
of St. John’s, to continue to function even as it underwent reconstruction on a
piecemeal basis.
Roncalli became
a school and a construction zone at the same time. That decision held inherent
risks, and not just with respect to the additional cost of carrying on a major construction project on an occupied premises.
The risk of
combining two incompatible activities demanded the highest possible safety
standard for the 410 students enrolled K to Grade 6, distributed throughout 21
classrooms; the statistics provided on the School’s web site.
