REGINA — The provincial auditor has released findings of a follow-up audit to recommendations made in 2020 to Horizon School Division.
The recommendations in the 2020 audit were in connection to processes to maintain facilities within the school division.
According to the provincial auditor’s 2022 report released Tuesday, the division had improved its processes by January 2022. The report stated the division had implemented one recommendation and partially implemented four recommendations from their 2020 audit.
“We did find there is some more work to do,” said Tara Clemett, provincial auditor, at a news conference Tuesday.
“It’s a matter of figuring out what are your significant components … it’s almost like what are your key facilities and the significant components of those facilities, make sure you are appropriately tracking those as such. They were just starting to almost get all that information that they do require in their system, and then figure out how frequently should (they) be obviously updating and maintaining these systems. That had further work to do. And in certain cases, it was around really some of the fire suppression systems and so forth.”
Clemett noted COVID-19 did have a bit of an impact on periodic maintenance or on actual repairs required, and those “weren’t always being done on a timely basis.”
“And, so, they will have to figure out a mechanism for making sure those risks don’t exist in the school for a very long time frame.”
According to the summary released of the auditor’s report, the division had done the following:
- They progressed in adding unique asset identification tags for significant components and updating information on these components in its maintenance IT system. This enhances their ability to plan, track, and monitor maintenance of facilities and their components.
- Actively used its maintenance IT system to track information on maintenance activities such as service requests, preventative maintenance tasks and their status. However, the auditor noted the division needs to effectively monitor timelines to complete maintenance activities, and keep information on completed tasks and service requests up-to-date or accurate.
- Improved use of the maintenance IT system, which would assist the division in prioritizing maintenance deficiencies and monitoring maintenance completion.
- The division had begun prioritizing maintenance on deficiencies found during fire protection and suppression system inspections; however, the report noted it did not always address identified deficiencies in a timely manner. The auditor’s report states that prioritizing and addressing the deficiencies can help the division avoid non- compliance with applicable codes, and provide safe environments for all students, staff, and the public.
- The division’s board of education was provided periodic maintenance reports that included information on facilities with higher maintenance concerns, year-over-year trends on facility conditions, and outstanding maintenance activities.
It was also noted maintenance was considered a key aspect of asset management, and the consequences of not conducting effective maintenance and repairs include potential health and safety problems, reduced quality of space, loss of facility value, higher future repair costs and facilities not meeting their expected service life.
Horizon School Division No. 205 covers schools in the east central region of Saskatchewan, with a central office in Humboldt.
