A handful of schools in the Capital Region are set to undergo seismic upgrades, as the province this week announced a $584-million earthquake-proofing investment.

The Greater Victoria School District is slated to see upgrades come to George Jay, Tillicum, and Cloverdale elementary schools, and Shoreline and Cedar Hill middle schools.

Cordova Bay and Lochside elementary in the Saanich School District are also among the 45 schools on the upgrades list.

“This takes care of SD61’s high-risk schools,” said Peg Orcherton, chair of the board of education.

“We’re happy that they’ve acknowledged and are moving more quickly to having those schools seismically upgraded, for the safety of the students and staff who work in those schools.”

The upgrades will be spread out over the span of three school years, beginning in 2013-14.

While the spending announcement came in the final days before the provincial election campaign formally begins, Orcherton says she sees this as secured money.

“We have every expectation that this will be done by whichever government is formed post May 14th,” she said.

The cost of upgrading the Greater Victoria and Saanich schools is still unknown. Orcherton says the next steps require the districts to proceed to a design and construction phase, outlining the scope, schedule and budget for each individual project.

Also this week, the province announced a $1-million program to provide milk from local dairy farms at no cost to children from kindergarten to Grade 2. Co-sponsored by the B.C. Dairy Association, the program is offered to 1,400 schools already enrolled in the B.C. government’s fresh fruit and vegetables program.

– with files from Tom Fletcher

kslavin@saanichnews.com

 

Victoria News