Ministry’s $500,000 cap on projects forces district to shuffle its priorities

The Central Okanagan school district is being forced to switch around its priorities for school enhancement projects after the Ministry of Education indicated it will not fund projects costing more than $500,000.

Recently, district staff discussed its requests for funds through the school enhancement fund with the Ministry of Education.

The school enhancement program provides funding to improve the safety, condition, energy efficiency and functionality of existing schools.

Eligible projects include upgrades for electrical, energy efficiency, health and safety, mechanical, washrooms and flooring.

“Through discussions with the ministry, the district was informed that the current projects requested in the 2019/20 capital plan submission for school enhancement cannot be supported due to the size of the projects,” said Eileen Sadlowski, secretary-treasurer for the district, in a memo to the board.

District staff were asked to consider projects with an approximate cost of $500,000.

Staff are recommending the board approve the revised capital plan submission for the school enhancement program, moving the Mount Boucherie washroom upgrade to the top priority position.

“The project is a continuation of the recently completed first phase of washroom upgrades at Mount Secondary,” said Sadlowski.

The estimated cost of this project is $590,000.

The washroom upgrade was originally going to be funded through the annual facilities grant.

“Since the funding can come from the school enhancement program, staff will reallocate the AFG funding to other district projects,” said Sadlowski.

Second highest on the updated capital plan submission for school enhancement projects is Phase 1 of the boiler and geothermal field, which has an estimated cost of around $1 million, followed by Phase 2 of a classroom mechanical upgrade at a cost of $2.45 million.

School trustees will discuss the capital plan changes at Wednesday’s meeting. Boucherie