It just may be easier to provide more amenities for smaller capacity schools when building new or re-building old ones.
The Manager of Plant Services Administration for the Bluewater District School Board, Al Gibb says the extra cash comes courtesy of revised capital benchmarks from the Ministry of Education.
Gibb says the announcement was a definite increase of 4 per cent above inflation and also the student area factors allows the board to build special rooms at smaller schools.
Gibb says it was always difficult at the smaller capacity schools to provide the rooms you might need like gyms, special ed classrooms and administration spaces.
He says the new formula allows minimum standards and funding for those minimum standards.
Gibb told board trustees the ministry has re-jigged numbers based on construction cost benchmarks; student area benchmarks and a geographic area factor taking into account construction costs in different areas of the province.
It means that if new schools are built following accommodation review committee recommendations for instance, there will be more money available to the board.
Gibb says it great news and trustees agreed.
The new benchmarks include elementary and secondary schools with the secondary schools getting a bigger break.
He says it bodes well for construction of J-K to Grade 12 schools because the ministry will recognize those schools as secondary when it comes to funding.
