Roofing, heating and more: SD 60 receives $1.2 million for school upgrades

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —  School District 60 (SD 60) will start upgrading Fort St. John schools with over $1.2 million in funding from the Ministry of Education and Child Care. 

During its April 14th meeting, SD 60 passed its capital bylaw in which the district will receive $1,225,000 in funding through the ministry for programs on school enhancement, carbon-neutral capital and food infrastructure. 

Board chair Helen Gilbert explained the district made submissions to the ministry based on its biggest priorities.

“What we do is we put in early in the year what we would like to fix, we go through where all the needs in the district are,” said Gilbert. 

Gilbert said the district was not approved for all projects submitted due to budget constraints. 

“[The ministry] indicated that school districts didn’t necessarily get as many asks as they might have got previously, because their dollars are very tight, given what we’ve got going on with tariffs,” said Gilbert. 

Duncan Cran Elementary School will receive $885,000 for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system upgrades. 

Upper Halfway Elementary Jr. Secondary School will receive $240,000 to upgrade the roofing on its facility. 

Lastly, Robert Ogilvie Elementary will receive $100,000 for kitchen and equipment upgrades. 

All of the projects are to be completed by March 2026. 

The district will also get four new school buses to replace its older models. 

This includes two buses with 76 seats, and two with 52 to 57 seats. 

SD 60 secretary treasurer Angela Telford said no additional information has been provided on the projects as they are in the early phases of development and have yet to be tendered.