April 19, 2004
School Capital Funding

R. Lee: My last question is on school capital funding. How much over the next two years will we spend on capital funding for schools? You know, with the economy growing and a lot of people moving into the province, there will be a lot of demand, probably in certain areas, for schools. Would those budgets be projected in a positive way in terms of establishing new schools in some areas, if the growth is there? For example, in Burnaby we have actually increased our population.

Hon. T. Christensen: Last year — about a year ago now — the ministry announced a $611 million program: capital funding for the '03-04 to '05-06 period. We're just in the process now of finalizing the capital funding envelope for what will be '04-05 to '06-07, so really it's an additional year in terms of what's already been provided for in terms of capital funding.

           The priorities in terms of which projects go ahead is dependent on a number of factors based on information that is provided by districts. Enrolment certainly is one. The development of new residential neighbourhoods is another. The need for replacement schools, depending on the condition of schools, is another. So there is a broad range of factors there that we take into account, and we're hoping to finalize that capital plan very shortly.