None of the environmental upgrades that the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District requested this year will be funded by the province.
The province announced $4.55 million in funding to assist school districts with their green projects in 2014-2015, and none of the local projects were on the list.
The district requested that Victoria fund three electric cars for $100,000, high efficiency lighting at Pitt Meadows secondary for $181,000, and a new heat pump system at Kanaka Creek Elementary for $476,000.
The heat pumps would replace natural gas rooftop units that are nearing the end of their life. The projects would cut CO2 emissions by about 60 tonnes per year.
The Education Ministry did smile on applications from 28 school districts, which will receive funding under the Carbon Neutral Capital Program. The majority of those projects were boiler replacements, including one for $343,000 at a Richmond high school.
The Ministry of Education launched the Carbon Neutral Capital Program in
2012 to compensate school districts for the amount they pay to purchase
carbon offsets from Pacific Carbon Trust each year, by funding projects
that reduce emissions and save money.
