Brandon School Division Faces Aging Infrastructure Challenge

The Brandon School Division (BSD) is confronting significant challenges due to the aging infrastructure of its school buildings. An updated facility report reveals that most of the division’s structures are past their prime, with the average age now at 62 years. During a recent board meeting, Superintendent Mathew Gustafson presented findings indicating that approximately 75 percent of BSD’s buildings are over 50 years old.

Aging Infrastructure Overview

BSD operates 24 original school buildings, which range in age from just five years to nearly 120 years old. The oldest facilities include École New Era, established in 1906, the administration building from 1927, and Earl Oxford from 1928. These structures, now well over 90 years old, highlight the division’s reliance on aging infrastructure.

The report notes that while there are a few newer buildings, such as Maryland Park (opened in 2021), the majority of BSD’s schools were built mid-century. Facilities like George Fitton (1954), Neelin (1956), St. Augustine (1957), and J.R. Reid (1959) constitute a significant portion of the aging infrastructure.

In addition to the original buildings, BSD manages 30 additions across its campuses, which include classroom wings, gymnasiums, and vocational spaces. These additions range in age from nine to 70 years, with an average age of 42 years. Notably, more than a third—37 percent—of these additions are older than 50 years, underscoring the need for strategic maintenance.

Maintenance Strategies and Financial Constraints

The report also highlighted the division’s current maintenance strategy, which includes corrective, preventive, and predictive approaches. Superintendent Gustafson acknowledged that BSD remains heavily reliant on corrective maintenance due to unforeseen failures, such as plumbing issues or required safety updates. “Two years ago, we said we were trying to move more to the preventative and predictive,” he noted. “But I have to report that BSD is primarily still utilizing corrective maintenance.”

Financial constraints are a significant factor impacting maintenance strategies. Gustafson emphasized that the costs associated with corrective measures are escalating faster than available budgets. This situation leaves the division with limited resources for preventive maintenance, which could extend the lifespan of facilities and reduce long-term costs. He explained, “Running equipment until it fails can be costly. It can cost up to 10 times as much as a regular maintenance program.”

Predictive maintenance, while promising savings of 8 to 12 percent compared to preventive strategies and up to 40 percent compared to reactive fixes, remains a challenge for BSD in the current financial landscape.

Despite these hurdles, Gustafson reassured trustees of BSD’s commitment to gradually incorporate more preventive and predictive maintenance when feasible. The ongoing dialogue among trustees reflects a collective recognition of the urgent need to address the challenges posed by the aging infrastructure.

As the Brandon School Division navigates these complexities, the community remains focused on ensuring that educational environments are safe and conducive to learning.