The rules have changed slightly for how school districts accept capital funding from the government.
The School District 72 Board of Education was told at their most recent public meeting that the Ministry of Education no longer requires a bylaw be passed for every item approved under the capital funding process, instead only requiring one bylaw for all projects approved in a fiscal year.
They are also trying to get the capital projects submission dates moved up, with their “ultimate goal,” according to SD72 secretary-treasurer Kevin Patrick, being to get submissions in by the end of the previous year (June 30) for projects that are slated to happen the following year, “to match up better with planning their fiscal year as well as to try to assist us with getting projects through as quickly as possible.”
This year’s SD72 capital project approval was for $100,000 towards design fees for the Pinecrest mechanical upgrades plan and a yet-unspecified amount toward seismic improvements for Cortes Island Elementary/Junior Secondary, so the board passed a bylaw to accept that funding from the government under the new bylaw rules.