THUNDER BAY — The Lakehead District Public School board's capital spending plans this school year go far beyond the expansion of Westgate Collegiate and the construction of a new elementary school at the Churchill high school site.
Besides those two projects, the board expects to spend $11 million to renew existing infrastructure ranging from windows and carpeting to upgraded electrical circuits and washroom improvements. That's an increase of about $3 million over last year.
David Wright, the board's business superintendent, says the proportion of the new capital budget that's allocated to saving energy is significant.
"We really are investing money into reducing our carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions," Wright said in an interview with Tbnewswatch.
He said this is reflected in projects such as installing additional energy-conserving LED lights, and upgrading heating units "to reduce operating costs but also to make our schools more green-friendly."
The number of capital projects this year, as well as total expenditures, have gone up over the last couple of years.
Wright said "We're really taking this opportunity where we have some capital money to invest in our schools. The ministry [of education] has come to the table with more capital money, so we're taking advantage of that."
The Ford government has cut back on green energy programs, but according to Wright some energy-saving projects that were "in the hopper" were still allowed to continue if they had been tendered.
"I don't think we lost out, actually, last year, I think we were able to leverage about $900,000 worth of greenhouse gas-reduction funding for capital projects. But I know there won't be any more of that funding coming forward."
Overall, Wright said, the public board remains in a position where it can "invest a lot of money" in maintaining its infrastructure.
He noted that the harsh climate of northwestern Ontario means that the board has to repair school roofs on a regular basis. "We have a tough time keeping up."
But in addition to that kind of ongoing exterior maintenance, the board has funds available to improve the components of school interiors.
"For example, at Hammarskjold we're investing quite a bit of money in science rooms and food rooms and things like that. Program spaces become a little bit tired over a period of time and need to be refreshed, but they do take significant capital investment," Wright said.
At Westgate, work continues toward the completion of the addition and renovations the board approved in conjunction with the transfer of students from Churchill. The original targeted cost of $7.5 million will end up closer to $10 million because of changes to the scope of the project, and higher costs than originally estimated.
Much of the work was done in time for the start of the school year, but the combined cafeteria and auditorium addition won't be finished until early 2019.
The new elementary school at the Churchill site will cost about $30 million.
Wright said the board is still planning for completion by September 2019, but expects to get an updated timeline from its contractor in the near future.
Information provided by the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board shows that its capital budget expenditures have also increased substantially in recent years.
In 2015-16, it spent about $4.3 million. In 2017-18 the capital budget was $7.5 million, and this year's spending will be just slightly below that figure.
A spokesperson said the increase in government funding between 2016 and 2018 is due to higher allocations for School Condition Improvement and Greenhouse Gas Reduction funding.
