Over the weekend, the Deputy Premier/ Minister of Education,  Shirley Bond announced the Government was setting aside $1 million to help School Boards offset the costs of removing beetle killed trees from school property.

The removal of the trees is a safety issue. 

The BC School Trustees Association will administer the funds by setting up a special committee made up of reps from the affected school boards.  The Committee will then develop a plan for the distribution of funds.

There aren’t many school boards affected by the mountain pine beetle says School District 57 Chair, Bill Christie.  He also notes few schools in other districts have any trees at all on their property, so there is a good chance District 57 could find itself getting a significant piece of this pie.

The amount though, falls short of the $3 million the District is trying to recover.  Letters have been sent to the Ministry of Forest and Range, calling for funding to offset the $3 million the Board has spent to clear the dead trees from school properties. “Oh, we’re not done yet” says Chairman Bill Christie. “We will continue to work with the Minister to see if there are other funding opportunities.”