NANAIMO – Local MLAs Doug Routley and Leonard Krog say students in Nanaimo and Ladysmith will benefit from safer, more efficient and comfortable schools thanks to over $4.4 million in provincial funding for school upgrade projects in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District.

“Students deserve safe classrooms,” said Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley. “This increased funding is great news for our community.”

“In recent years, school maintenance projects have been underfunded in BC,” said Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog. “Our government is making better choices to ensure our children have well-maintained schools to learn in.”

Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District (SD 68) is receiving $4,481,329 in total funding, including:

• $1,750,000 in School Enhancement Program funding for dust collection system upgrades at Dover Bay Secondary and Wellington Secondary, and HVAC system upgrades at Park Avenue Elementary and Hammond Bay Elementary.
• $2,731,329 in Annual Facilities Grant (AFG) funding, which flows to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District annually for routine school maintenance costs.

These funding programs are part of a $198-million provincial investment under the Annual Facilities Grant, School Enhancement Program, Carbon Neutral Capital Program and Bus Replacement Program, to ensure students have well-maintained learning environments and bus services that are safe, comfortable and efficient.

The provincial government has boosted school maintenance funding by more than $20 million over last year, and has increased the AFG for the first time since 2004/05. The increase in funding will help ensure that students, teachers and school district staff can focus their energy where it matters most – in the classroom.

Link to Provincial release: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018EDUC0015-000500