Rosemont elementary’s retaining wall will be replaced thanks to a $300,000 cash infusion from the BC government’s so-called fix-it fund. It’s one of 80 province-wide projects awarded funding last week, and the only one in the Kootenay Lake school district.
The money comes from a $40-million fund that aims to complete projects by next March. To be eligible for the cash, schools had to demonstrate they could complete the work in time.
Education Minister Mike Bernier said the fix-it fund is over and above the annual facilities grant provided to school districts for repairs. He confirmed the additional funds are from within the current three-year ministry budget, shifted to the current fiscal year.
“This is for deferred maintenance of neglected schools around the province,” NDP education critic Rob Fleming said. “There’s probably hundreds of millions of dollars of deferred maintenance, so even at this rate it would take decades to get on top of that.”
Fleming said the fix-it fund used to be called the routine maintenance fund.
— With files from Tom Fletcher