Two solar heaters, a bus garage and renovations in school buildings: the cleaver is out for projects like these in the Sea to Sky School District following a provincial decision to withhold an annual grant worth $892,000.
The province is also clawing back money from other programs, spiking the cut to $1.2 million.
The Annual Facility Grant is used for school repairs and renovations like roof repairs, lighting upgrades and painting.
The school boards committed to these projects during the summer holidays in anticipation of the grant, but nothing came except a letter on Aug. 27 from the education minister saying the money is gone.
That left the school district scrambling to balance its books as it had already spent $752,000 of what they thought would be grant money.
"School district kept asking for clarifications. We were cautioned to keep our work to minimum but at no times did anyone think that the whole thing would be cut," said Nancy Edwards, the Sea to Sky School District secretary-treasurer.
The province wants the school districts to spend money from their reserve funds now, but that won't make up for the loss at the Sea to Sky School District. It's only $117,000 from last year and that's a pittance compared to the cut. Also, that money has a specific purpose.
"You do long term planning with that money. It's not all spent but it's committed. We have a plan," Edwards said.
But the unexpected decision has put other plans in disarray. The district now plans to make adjustments in its budget and that might mean it won't be able to replace computers or it won't have money for school equipment or it would have to stop hiring in some areas.
It also plans to ask schools to tighten their budget strings, asking them to pay from their budget surpluses.
This can trigger a spiral of small cuts that can eventually affect the quality of education the students are getting, said Beth Miller, the president of the Sea to Sky Teachers' Association.
"The government is very smart. They don't make a one big cut. They will make little tiny cuts here and there," she said.
An education ministry spokesperson said the school districts were advised in June to be cautious about their school building maintenance work and were also reminded that the government was reviewing its spending.
"This was a maintenance fund and this has nothing to do with the core operating funding. They are still getting operating money to run their schools," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, who refused to be named.
The funding per child for Parent Advisory Councils (PAC) across the province has been cut too. Last year PACs received $20 for every child, this year it will only be $10.
Even though it's a provincial responsibility, the parent councils have provided school uniforms, books and even money for playgrounds, said Cathy Jewett, Sea to Sky School District Parent Advisory Council (D-PAC) president.
"If you are parent, there would be more pressure on you to fundraise, you might be disappointed about your child's access to learning resources, such as books, software for computers," she said.
MLA Joan McIntyre said these are extraordinary economic times and all ministries have had to make some difficult choices.
"The ministry has asked school districts to use unspent money from past years or postpone their school maintenance projects, so that the dollars can go directly into the classroom," she said.
By scrapping this grant, the provincial government intends to save $110 million province wide. Bigger school districts, like Vancouver School Board, face a cut of $10 million.
