Investment Will Make Schools More Energy-Efficient, Create Savings

EDUCATION--Investment Will Make Schools More Energy-Efficient, Create Savings

• --------------------------------------------------------------Students in the Halifax Regional School Board will soon be learning in more energy-efficient schools, helping to put more money back into the classroom.

An energy retrofit will upgrade 90 schools and save the school board about $2.3 million each year in energy and maintenance costs. The project is part of the province's new capital plan.

"In Kids and Learning First, we committed to doing everything we can to direct resources to the classroom first," said Mat Whynott, MLA for Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville, on behalf of Education Minister Ramona Jennex at Millwood High School, in Middle Sackville today, Dec. 6.

"This is a win for everyone involved. Students and teachers will be in improved school facilities and the energy savings for the school board will help ensure we put resources where they are needed most, in the classroom."

The upgrades include natural gas boilers, improved lighting systems, and new meter systems to monitor energy usage. The project is expected to reduce the school board's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent — an amount equal to taking 1,500 cars off the road or saving 36,000 trees.

"We are proud and excited to watch our school use more environmentally sustainable technologies," said Stephanie Quirke, a Grade 12 student at Millwood High School and co-founder of the school's environmental club.

"These upgrades will not only significantly reduce our school's carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. They will also provoke us as students to make more environmentally friendly decisions."

The province is investing $34 million over the multi-year project. Work will begin in 2013.

In total, the province will spend $55.9 million under its capital plan to renovate and improve 26 schools across the province in 2013-14.

This is the third straight year the province will release the capital plan before the spring budget. This sends a clear signal of what the province intends to do in the year ahead, and gives the private sector greater opportunity to prepare for projects, creating efficiencies and cost savings for the province.