$12 million in reserved federal funds released to B.C. school districts: ministry

The British Columbia government says it is releasing about $12 million to school districts across the province to further support the COVID-19 response.

The money is part of the $242.4 million one-time federal funding for pandemic safety measures.

A statement from the Ministry of Education says almost half of the federal funds has been allocated to B.C.’s public and independent school districts since September.

“School is the best place for most students to learn, and it’s so important for their social and emotional well-being,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education. “We know this funding is making a tremendous difference for students and staff, keeping our schools open and supporting our safety plans during the pandemic.”

The $12.1 million was reserved for “emerging needs,” and the statement says it is being released to pay for extra cleaning supplies, protective equipment or more staff and cleaning if a COVID-19 exposure occurred at a school.

These emerging expenses are said to include additional staff or cleaning if an exposure has occurred at a school or refreshing stocks of additional cleaning supplies and PPE as needed.

The ministry says the remainder of the pandemic response funding totals $121.2 million and is expected to be available to public and independent school districts in January.

Cash from the first round of funding was used to hire 1,868 new staff members, purchase almost 2.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment and install or upgrade thousands of hand hygiene and washing stations and air or ventilation filters in schools.

The federal funding adds to the $45.6 million provided to districts by the provincial government.

With files to Canadian Press.

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