NANAIMO – Local MLAs Doug Routley and Sheila Malcolmson say students in Nanaimo and Ladysmith will benefit from safer, more efficient schools thanks to over $1.1 million in provincial funding for school upgrade projects in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District.

“The BC Liberals neglected our education system for years, our government is putting education first and investing in the future of our children,” said Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan. “This new funding will help SD 68 ensure that students in our community have the safe and accessible learning environments they need to thrive.”

“Our children deserve the very best learning environment, unfortunately chronic underfunding by the previous government left many of our schools unable to conduct essential upgrades,” said Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo. “I’m proud to be part of a government that is making the necessary investments in Nanaimo schools, and working hard to ensure our students learn in safe and comfortable classrooms.”

The Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District (SD 68) is receiving $1,163,609 in funding for school maintenance projects, including:

• School Enhancement Program
  • Cinnabar Valley Elementary
    • Boiler Upgrades
  • Park Avenue Elementary
    • HVAC Upgrades (Phase 2)
  • Bus Acquisition Program
    • One New Bus

These funding programs are part of a $206 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. This year’s overall funding is a $500,000 increase from the previous year, and a $20.6 million increase from 2016/17.

The New Democrat government has delivered historic levels of funding to B.C. schools, including the biggest operative and capital budgets in B.C. history, an extra $1-billion in classroom funding over 2016/17, $2.7-billion over three years to build, seismically upgrade and expand K-12 schools, and a new annual $5-million playground fund.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019EDUC0019-000324