Petition pressuring province to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary garners 3,300 signatures

It’s been 489 days since Hazel Trembath Elementary burned down, and Port Coquitlam parents’ patience is wearing thin.

Despite a statement from the minister of education over the summer promising to rebuild the school, a petition was started on Jan. 19 to further pressure the province.

It has gathered more than 3,300 signatures in less than a month. 

Alaina Milicevic, a representative of the Hazel Trembath Parent Advisory Council, said the amount of support for a school with only 215 students shows how important the rebuild is for the wider community.

“It’s more than just a place to educate our children,” Milicevic said. “Yet we’re in complete and utter limbo.”

Hazel Trembath Trembath was destroyed in a suspicious fire on Oct. 14, 2023, a crime which has gone unsolved.

Parents held a rally in June 2024 demanding the school be rebuilt, supported by Port Coquitlam councillors and school board members, which led to the province issuing a public statement committing to a replacement.

The recent petition is advocating for the province to make reconstruction of the school a priority, stating that families are struggling with the disruption to their lives.

In an email to the Dispatch, the ministry of infrastructure stated they are working with the Coquitlam School District and ministry of finance on next steps, but were not willing to share details.

“The devastation and disruption caused by the fire at Hazel Trembath Elementary is greatly felt across the community,” stated Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma. “With this loss there are many important steps to take, including a full assessment of loss, and ongoing site cleanup and preparation.”

All 60 B.C. school districts provide their five-year capital plans to the ministry of education, and are prioritized based on local need. Coquitlam School District’s latest capital submission included a plan for Hazel Trembath Elementary, and the province said this is being reviewed alongside the other 59 districts.

Over the summer, the district also submitted a business plan at the request of the province with three options: a full rebuild, a hybrid-prefab rebuild, or no rebuild. 

But no decisions have been made, leaving the district in a “holding pattern,” according to Milicevic.

“They’ve been given no information,” Milicevic said. “We’ve been given no timeline.”

The lack of communication with the community has been a concern for neighbourhood parents, according to Milicevic.

She said if the province is going to insure schools themselves, there should be a way of fast tracking rebuilds when disaster strikes.

Currently, Hazel Trembath’s application is going through the same process as if the district were asking for seismic upgrades, or a reconstruction based on age or building codes, Milicevic said.

If the province chooses not to rebuild the school, Milicevic said she thinks it needs to inform the community so that kids can start to be integrated into other schools.

Hazel Trembath’s students have taken a bus every school day to Winslow Centre since the blaze, a decommissioned Coquitlam middle school about 20 minutes away with 10 classrooms.

But the strain of travelling to the surrogate space is becoming difficult.

Milicevic, who also coordinates hot lunch for the school, said it’s become more and more difficult to get volunteers because of the distance, teachers meetings are challenging to arrange, and most communication is by email.

Hazel Trembath, by comparison, was an active place five days a week, where community groups met and sports were played, Milicevic said.

“It’s time to get going with this,” she said. “We’ve been sitting here waiting now for seven months with absolutely no news.”