School District 54 is asking the province for more than $9 million to make improvements at schools in Houston, Telkwa and Smithers.
It also wants to replace two school buses at a cost of $312,000.
The district approved the list of proposed projects Sept. 24. It will now be sent to the province as district officials ready their work and spending plans for the next budget year.
The two largest planned expenditures are at Smithers Secondary School where the district wants to spend $5.5 million and at Twain Sullivan where the district wants to spend $950,000 to replace boilers, ducting, heating units and electronic control systems with heat pumps in both facilities.
"This lowers operating costs, improves efficiency for ventilation, heating and cooling and lowers our carbon footprint," said school district secretary-treasurer Dave Margerm should the request for money be approved.
"This also changes natural gas use to electrical use through new heat pump exchanges," he said.
The district also wants $500,000 to replace the roof of Houston Secondary and $132,500 to renovate the existing kitchen facility there. The kitchen upgrade would include new fixtures, appliances, counters and cabinetry and more room for food preparation.
A further $750,000 would be spent to upgrade the learning commons area at Smithers Secondary, a combined $600,000 to replace the electrical mainlines at Silverthorne Elementary in Houston and Telkwa Elementary in Telkwa, and $500,000 to improve the building envelope (exterior cladding) at Muheim Elementary in Smithers.
The board also wants an accessible exercise playground for Smithers Secondary at a cost of $195,000.
