School District 57’s board of education approved applications to the provincial government for 13 capital projects worth almost $238 million at its final meeting of the 2024-25 school year, including once again requesting a replacement for D.P. Todd Secondary School.
At trustees’ Tuesday, June 10 meeting, they approved both major and minor capital project funding requests for the 2026-27 school year.
There were three requests in the major category, two of which involved D.P. Todd.
The secondary school was built in 1977 and opened in 1978.
The first request was for around $90.3 million to facilitate renovations increasing the high school’s capacity from 600 to 900 students.
The second request proposed a complete replacement of the school with capacity for 900 students worth around $131.5 million.
The third and final major request was around $10.74 million to add four classrooms and a daycare multipurpose room at Springwood Elementary. A note attached to that request said that prefabricated construction would be considered for the project.
Major capital requests must be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Child Care by June 30.
Under the minor capital requests, five projects were under the carbon neutral capital project (CNCP), three were under the playground equipment program (PEP) and the last four were under the school enhancement program (SEP).
At the meeting, secretary treasurer Lynda Minnabarriet said the repair or replacement of D.P. Todd has been identified as a need for several years, though the estimated costs have increased.
In 2020, the district asked the province for $75.3 million to replace the school. In 2024, the board asked for $88.38 million for renovations and $130 million for a new school.
The Springwood project’s projected costs have also increased, she said.
A response from the province on whether these items will be funded is expected next spring.
Vice-chair Erica McLean asked what the condition assessment of D.P. Todd has been in recent years. Minnabarriet said she did not have the information on hand but would look it up for the next meeting.
The CNCP projects total $2.8 million and include:
- $675,000 for boiler plant upgrades at Prince George Secondary School,
- $625,000 for a boiler plant upgrade and the addition of variable-frequency drives at College Heights Secondary School,
- $625,000 to replace the boiler system with a new condensing system at the John McInnis Centre,
- $450,000 to replace the boiler system with a new condensing system at Vanway Elementary School and
- $425,000 to replace the boiler system with a new condensing system and replace temperature coils in air handling units at Westwood Elementary School.
The three PEP projects total $585,000 and include:
- $195,000 to replace play equipment at Hixon Elementary School,
- $195,000 to replace play equipment at Beaverly Elementary School and
- $195,000 to install a new playground for intermediate students at Morfee Elementary School in Mackenzie.
The four SEP projects total $2,025,000 and include:
- $450,000 to replace rooftop heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units at College Heights Secondary School’s industrial education wing,
- $550,000 to replace three rooftop HVAC units at Buckhorn Elementary School,
- $400,000 to replace a section of roofing at D.P. Todd Secondary School and
- $625,000 to replace electrical unit ventilators in the shops wing of Prince George Secondary School.
Minor capital requests must be submitted to the ministry by Sept. 30. However, since the work is already done, Minnabarriet said they would submit both lists of capital requests at the same time.
In the 2024-25 school year, she said the district received around $1.3 million for minor capital projects.
Trustee Sarah Holland asked whether the playground projects were accessible projects, Minnabarriet confirmed that they were.
Supt. Jameel Aziz said parent advisory councils are no longer expected to help raise funds for playgrounds, but sometimes still lend a hand to enhance the projects’ budget.
Both submissions were approved unanimously.
Speaking to the Citizen after the meeting, Aziz said the student population at D.P. Todd is relatively stable and the urgency of a replacement or addition has settled somewhat.
“Now it’s more around the condition of the building, the lighting of the building,” Aziz said.
“When you compare it to a Shas Ti-Kelly Road or you compare it to a Duchess Park which are light and bright and have really welcoming spaces, D.P. Todd was built at a time when it’s not as welcoming. Even College Heights, when you go to that facility you can tell it was built in a different era.”
He said that there are no operational or safety concerns with the current D.P. Todd.
While the district would be happy with either a replacement or a renovation, Aziz said building a new school would allow for it to be built from the ground up rather than trying to incorporate an addition onto the existing structure.
Board chair Craig Brennan he and his colleagues are scheduled to speak with Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma at the end of the month and one of the items they want to bring up is whether there’s another way to present the province with the district’s needs rather than asking for the same projects over and over again.
In April, the board received word from the Ministry of Infrastructure that it would be getting more than $1.2 million in funding for HVAC upgrades at Beaverly and College Heights elementary schools.
The letter from the ministry warned of a “limited ability to advance major capital projects.”
Brennan said the district would do everything it can “to keep our schools welcome and safe and happy places.”
“Our staff does a great job with resources, but those big projects we’re going to keep lobbying the government for because they have to be done to maintain integrity of our buildings.”
Even though the board is done meeting until next school year, Brennan said trustees will continue to work on policy items throughout the summer.
The first regular board meeting of the 2025 school year will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
