Plumbing blockage causes major issues at West Lynn Public School

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Some staff at West Lynn Public School in Simcoe are “disgusted” after plumbing issues limited the number of washrooms available at the school on Tuesday.

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On Monday night, a major blockage was discovered in plumbing that feeds half of the building’s toilets and sinks, causing them to be unavailable on Tuesday.  

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The incident left the current West Lynn staff and student population of over 600 with just two functioning washrooms, some teachers told the Reformer.

The population at the school has grown to accommodate students and staff from nearby Elgin Avenue Public School as the latter goes through extensive renovations expected to be finished by the fall of 2026.  

West Lynn staff were instructed to use the student washrooms when no children were present. By Tuesday afternoon, portable toilets had been delivered to the property, but many teachers ended up going to a nearby Tim Hortons during lunch hour.  

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A spokesperson for the Grand Erie District School Board said the number of washrooms available fell within official regulations.

“We didn’t have the full compliment, but we did have the appropriate number of bathrooms under the requirements through the ministry to continue,” said Ryan Strang, senior manager of communications and community relations for the board. “We had staff monitoring the ins and outs to ensure there was no overlap of staff and student but we had the correct number of bathrooms to ratio there. There was no health and safety or privacy concern.

“The staff were very cooperative in minimizing the disruption throughout the day.”

One teacher, who like the others asked to remain anonymous, said the blockage also closed the school’s special needs washroom for the day.  

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“It really prevented our special needs students from being changed in a sanitary and dignified way,” the teacher said. “They were being changed in storage rooms on a mat on the floor, where there was no sink for the (educational assistants) to wash their hands right after.”  

Strang refutes the claim.

“There was no changing in a supply or storage closet,” he said. “My understanding is there was communication between the school administration and those families, and the families were OK with the adjustments in routine there to accommodate those students.” 

Another teacher wondered why the school wasn’t closed until the issue was rectified. 

“Workers and their tools were all around the hallways throughout the day, leaving doors open. There were a lot of faces that we didn’t know, which is not how we like to keep a school building safe and secure,” said one teacher.

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Another teacher described the building as full of “anxious adults and kids moving about, out of their routine during a week that is already challenging with the anticipation of Halloween”.  

Strang said the work was completed by late Tuesday and the building was back to normal at that point.

“As of 8:30 (Tuesday) night, everything was fixed and the project was deemed complete,” he said.

The incident, said a teacher, has highlighted washroom issues that date back to when West Lynn first welcomed those from Elgin Ave. last fall.  

“There are so many days that only two staff washrooms aren’t sufficient,” said a teacher.  

“The school board did not make sure this building was sufficiently equipped when they moved us here for two years. Who knows if it’ll be longer.”  

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