Officials with Border Land School Division (BLSD) hope to get a chunk of federal carbon tax revenues.

The Division has submitted an application to the Federal Climate Action Incentive Fund, Ottawa's initiative to return some of the money by helping schools pay for energy-efficient upgrades.

Rachel Geirnaert, secretary-treasurer for BLSD, says this funding would help expedite a transition to LED lighting in area schools, a project she notes has already been underway for a few years.

Geirnaert adds according to the Manitoba School Board Association, the agency administering the program, BLSD is eligible for an estimated $83,644 in funding. If the bid is successful, this money would help pay for lighting upgrades at Emerson School, W.C. Miller Collegiate in Altona and Shevchenko School in Vita.

While it's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to overhaul lighting throughout the entire division, Geirnaert says thankfully it's a project that can be done in phases.

"So we will just do it as the fund become available through that program as opposed to taking it out of our operating budget," she said.

It is anticipated these upgrades will bring a 20% cost savings over the lighting currently used in the division.