Second round of funding for Safe Schools Plan announced

The province has approved another $37.5 million in funding for its Safe Schools Plan.

This is the second round of payments going to schools to cover expenses of keeping staff and students safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 51 applications approved in this round of funding, going to school divisions, qualified independent schools and historical high schools.

The $37.5 million is being put towards:

• $5.2 million for sanitization (including 107 additional staff)
• $7.2 million for equipment and furniture, including audio amplification systems to help students hear when their teachers are wearing masks
• $21 million for remote learning (includes funding for 279 teachers and staff, which is in addition to the 252 staff approved in September)
• $2.6 million for technology upgrades, including the purchase of additional computers
• $1.5 million for other costs including additional supervision requirements and mental health and community liaison supports.

“Our more than $37 million funding commitment, which is in addition to the $51 million we approved in the fall, will provide divisions with the resources necessary to keep our schools safe,” Education Minister Dustin Duncan said in a release.

“This funding will provide for additional cleaning supplies, supports for online learning and the more than 400 staff that have been hired through the first phase of funding.”

This follows a previous announcement of $51 million in funding that was announced in September. That leaves $26 million remaining in the $150-million COVID contingency fund that was created with provincial, federal and school division savings earlier this year.

Another application intake will take place on March 1.