Four SD58 properties damaged in flood

A trio of Merritt schools and the school board office appear to have suffered damage in Monday’s flooding that forced the community to evacuate.

“We’re accessing those schools right now. We don’t have a clear understanding of what the impact was. We know that Merritt Central Elementary School, Merritt Secondary School, Diamond Vale Elementary, and the School Board Office all had some water due to the flood, but we’re not able to determine what that looks like just yet,” said Superintendent Steve McNiven.

McNiven stated that this week’s priority has been the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.

“We know people need some time get situated. We are talking about what this will look like mid-term, long-term, will there be a need for some remote options or combination of remote and face to face learning, so definitely something we are considering. I would predict we would be moving towards those conversations into the beginning next week. Right now, we just need to give people some time to make sure they’re situated and safe,” said McNiven.

SD58 also includes Princeton which has been severely damaged by flooding this week.

The district also supported the evacuation of Merritt on Monday, with McNiven confirming three employees were running buses for the community.