Thanks to about $2 million still to be spent from the Richmond School District's $9.5 million budget surplus, Hugh Boyd secondary will get new classrooms. Or, more accurately, they get to reuse old ones.
Two classrooms at the high school have had water leakage issues for at least three years, and unsightly temporary repairs lead one teacher to relocate his class elsewhere in the school, said principal Barbara Raynor.
"(Maintenance crews have) completely sealed off that part of the building. It's not very nice to look at, so it will be nice to have that wall removed and the things restored to the way they were before," said Raynor.
The issue lies in the all-glass atrium area at the backside of the school - previously used as a greenhouse - that spans two floors, and shares space with one affected classroom at the top, the other at the bottom.
"It's inconvenient," she said, adding there have not been any health or safety concerns as a result. "One of the rooms is an art room, and we can't use it to its fullest capacity."
Several school districts, including Richmond, found themselves with budget surpluses after the Education Ministry decided to unexpectedly release funds in June.
Hugh Bord has been patiently waiting for funding from the ministry, but Raynor was happy that the district has decided to allocate money from their budget themselves.
"We can't wait any longer," she said.
About $325,000 of the $2 million is being put towards what Mark De Mello, school district secretary treasurer, called Boyd's "building envelope remediation."
"In terms of dollars, it's the largest real impact," said De Mello.
Hamilton elementary is also getting $100,000 worth of structural repairs, and $30,00 will go towards upgrading the vents in shops at several high schools.
Physical upgrades are taking up $1,071,000. The other $864,000 is being put towards recurring costs like hiring educational assistants, custodians and support staff.
Although surpluses are intended as onetime-use only, De Mello said part of it is comprised of extra tuition revenue from higher-than-expected international student enrollment that the school district is able to carry over to subsequent years.
"We can put that money into salary expenses," he said. "You don't want to put one-time-funding into hiring people one year and have to lay them off again."
The remaining $7.5 million has been marked for reserve funds to cover emergencies and unexpected expenditures like snow clearing ($1.7 million), and operating costs like replacing computers and furniture ($1.8 million).
