If all goes according to plan, the Garden Valley School Division will be able to check an item off of its five-year capital plan next summer.

The division is celebrating the approval given by the Public Schools Finance Board to proceed with plans for exterior renovations to the Winkler Elementary School, an item that's been on the list for a while.

Board Chair Laurie Dyck says the work will be done on the oldest part of the building which runs along Mountain Avenue and Eighth Street.

It will include new windows, a new roof, and facade.

"It is exciting to see it," says Dyck. "It has been on our ask list and it's not just because it visually looks like it needs some help. We do know that with age windows don't have the same R-value...we're glad that the Public Schools Finance Board has offered us funds because at this point we don't have funds in our taxing pool to be able to do that."

Currently, Dyck says the architects are going over the scope of work that needs to be completed.

The board has intentions of tendering the project no later than January 15th of 2021 with the project tentatively getting underway in the summer of 2021.

The south end of the school from Eighth Street.