CBC Winnipeg
Last Updated: February 16 2005 04:25 PM CST
WINNIPEG - The provincial government will spend more money on capital projects at its public schools over the next three years.
Education Minister Peter Bjornson announced a $10-million increase in the capital budget for 2005-06, bringing the total spending on capital projects $45 million.
The funding includes $25 million for new schools, additions and renovations, almost $15 million for infrastructure projects such as new furnaces and roofs, and $4 million for access projects, such as elevators.
The province will announce the locations of the new schools later in the year.
Bjornson also committed to spending the same amount on capital projects over the next two years. By releasing a three-year plan, Bjornson says school divisions can better plan to meet the needs of their students.
"Being able to engage in long-term planning with the public schools finance board, having three years of predictable funding, there's a lot of benefits in that type of structure," he says. "First and foremost … they can react more quickly to students' needs. There's also the potential to make the $45 million go further, in that they can take advantage of favourable market conditions for tendering."
The total is still a far cry for the $75 million the NDP government spent on capital projects in 2001 and 2002. Bjornson says much of that money was used to pay for projects promised by the previous Conservative administration.
"If you want to compare records, we think our record is very clear that education is a big priority for the province of Manitoba, for this government," he says.
"There were a lot of infrastructure challenges when we came into office. And we continue to have infrastructure challenges with the new structure, the guaranteed funding. This particular strategy is going to be very effective in addressing those particular needs."
Bjornson says the $333 million his government has spent on school additions, roofs and portable classrooms since 2000 is more than double what the previous government spent in its last six years