Nearly $115,000 has been approved for upgrades and equipment at schools in Border Land School Division.

The Board of Trustees has doled out another edition of its Major Equipment Grant, money that is budgeted annually and supports larger, cost-shared projects that also benefit the community.

"And so the project proposals...have to show how the school would use the equipment that they're asking for as well as how the local community would benefit. And then they also have to show how they're cost-sharing in that," explained BLSD Superintendent, Krista Curry.

The latest list of recipients includes:

W.C. Miller Collegiate - gym audio/video equipment - $39,778

Ross L Gray School - outdoor basketball court - $18,845

Rosenfeld Elementary School - playground concrete pad and wall - $18,150

Emerson Elementary School - outdoor shelter - $15,330

Roseau Valley School - furniture for student/visitor space - $8,885

Green Ridge School - sound system for gym - $8,000

Blue Clay Colony School - outdoor classroom - $7,000

Rosenfeld Elementary School - lighting equipment gym - $3,710

Rosenfeld Elementary School - curtains for stage - $2,531

Gretna Elementary School - sound system upgrades - $1,932

Roseau Valley School - outdoor sign enhancements - $1,894

Originally, BLSD had designated $30,000 a year for these grants but eventually increased it to $150,000.

Curry explained that the need to replace aging playground equipment was the rationale behind the move.

"That turns into a PAC (Parent Advisory Council) fundraiser typically, and we have schools in communities where there isn't a large base to fundraise from and they were taking year-after-year-after-year to rebuild their playgrounds," she said. In some cases, Curry added schools went without a playground because the old structure had to be torn down before they could afford a new one.

Meantime, Curry said this will, unfortunately, be the final year for the Major Equipment Grant, noting recent budget restrictions have forced the Division to cut these dollars from its 2018/19 budget.

"We did tell schools this year because often they've submitted (a request) and it's been a three-year plan...so we did tell schools to not necessarily count on that (money) in the future. And so where we could, we tried to support the projects so they could be completed by the end of this year."

She noted the impacts of this decision will be felt across Border Land, particularly when it comes to easing the fundraising burden placed on PACs.