School District 57 will be getting more than $1.2 million in funding from the provincial government to upgrade the HVAC systems at Beaverly Elementary and École College Heights Elementary.
That’s according to a letter the Ministry of Infrastructure’s executive director for its education and child care capital branch attached to the agenda for the board of education’s next meeting on Tuesday, April 8.
Damien Crowell wrote on March 25 that none of the major capital projects the district was looking for funding for had been approved.
“A variety of emergent issues including a significant number of school fires, unprecedented enrolment growth and a challenging fiscal environmental have resulted in a limited ability to advance major capital projects,” Crowell wrote.
However, two minor projects were approved: $650,000 and $625,000 respectively for HVAC system upgrades at Beaverly Elementary and École College Heights Elementary.
These projects must be designed, tendered and completed by March 31, 2026.
At the April 8 meeting, school trustees will vote on a bylaw approving the capital plan for these two projects.
Also at that meeting, the board will discuss the draft annual budget for the 2025-26 school year. That budget currently predicts an operating fund surplus of around $300,000.
At this point, the 2025-26 budget still includes operating costs for Giscome Elementary School as the board has not yet decided whether it will be closed or remain open.
A special board meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 16 to decide the school’s fate.
On April 29, the board will hear a summary of public feedback on next year’s budget during a Committee of the Whole meeting. Then, the budget bylaw will be voted on at the May 13 regular board meeting.
Both the April 8 regular meeting and the April 16 special meeting start at 6 p.m. at the district’s offices at 2100 Ferry Ave.
