School District 83 is asking the province for more than $45 million for major capital projects including a new school in Salmon Arm.
On Sept. 21, during their first board meeting of the 2021/22 school year, school trustees approved a request from staff to send its 2022-23 Capital Plan Submissions to the Ministry of Education.
According to director of operations Travis Elwood, capital plan submissions are used to inform the selection priority for capital projects for the ministry’s following fiscal year, and provide the ministry insight on future priorities used in longer term capital planning.
Major capital plan submissions include three projects, the one with the biggest price tag being Salmon Arm Elementary, a new 300 capacity kindergarten to Grade 5 school. For this the school district is requesting $22,622,698.
The board previously indicated school district property near the District Education Support Centre would be a good fit for the school. However, the final location will not be determined until the district receives approval for the project.
The next big ticket request, $16,259,067, is for Pleasant Valley Secondary in Armstrong. The project involves replacing the gym. The capital plan submission reads, “demolish gym due to major structural failure, reconstruct gym.”
Armstrong’s Len Wood Middle School is on the major capital plan for a new gym, for which the school district is requesting $6,151,202.
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Work on heating and cooling systems at several schools make up the bigger expenditures in the minor capital plan submissions, with requests totalling $10,195,000. The school district is seeking $2,100,000 to do extensive work at Armstrong Elementary, including a replacement of existing air-to-air heat pumps and air handling units for the library and gym, and upgrading the exhaust system. For Parkview Elementary in Sicamous, $1,750,000 is being sought to replace HVAC vents and heat pumps. Funding is also wanted for HVAC work at: Len Wood Middle School ($1,650,000), JL Jackson ($1,400,000) and AL Fortune Secondary ($1,450,00), South Canoe Elementary ($975,000) and North Canoe Elementary ($870,000).
Other requests included in the minor capital plan submissions include funding for playgrounds at Armstrong Elementary and Highland Park Elementary, and $141,483 for a new bus that will be used for a new route to accommodate increased enrolment in the Sorrento/Tappen area.
lachlan@saobserver.net
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