For students at Nicola-Canford Elementary, it’s not just welcome to a new school year — it’s welcome to a new school.

As students returned to class for the first official full day Tuesday, those at the Lower Nicola elementary got a look at their new modular classrooms.

The new school was a $3 million pilot project of the Ministry of Education. Demolition of the old school began last June, and students were relocated to Merritt’s former Coquihalla Middle School while construction of the new building took place throughout the year.

Though it’s not 100 per cent complete, Nicola-Canford has been granted a temporary occupancy permit and has passed all the health and safety inspections it needs to be open for classes.

There is less than $60,000 worth of work to do on the new school, some of which is outside the building, including car stops and fencing, School District 58 superintendent Steve McNiven told trustees at their Sept. 17 meeting.

Crews are anticipated to finish up work on the school while classes are in session for a few days.

“There may be some challenges and some bumps in the road, but we’re excited about the building,” McNiven said. “It’s a great place for learning, just a fabulous facility for our students.”

McNiven said the permanent occupancy permit inspection was imminent, but had to wait until picket lines were cleared.

Once the school is 100 per cent completed, the district will host a grand opening event, which is expected to take place in early October.

“A lot of people who aren’t connected there now but were, will want to be there,” trustee Richie Gage said.

The project has paid off for the local district, SD58 secretary-treasurer Kevin Black told trustees.

The district’s deferred capital revenue is $19 million as opposed to $14.4 last year, directly related to the increase because of Nicola-Canford’s construction.

The investment in a new school also bumped the district’s non-financial tangible assets up to $25.4 million compared to last year’s $20.9 million.

Construction boosts SD58’s assets

School board trustees finalized their financial statements for the 2013-14 school year at their regular meeting on Sept. 17.

The audited statement pegs the district’s financial assets at a $2.1 million increase over the previous school year because of the new construction at Nicola-Canford, a $3 million pilot project by the Ministry of Education.

The district will also pocket 20 per cent of the $407,000 it saved during the teachers’ strike, and pay the ministry back the remaining 80 per cent.

The district came in just shy of $3 million under its 2014 budget for instruction for a variety of reasons, including the teachers’ strike, CUPE wage expenses (which will be paid out shortly now that the agreement with support workers has been ratified), and some aboriginal education dollars that weren’t spent according to the budget.

“We did have some contingencies in there and there were some items that weren’t done due to the strike,” SD58 secretary-treasurer Kevin Black said.

The district’s statement of financial position is a snapshot of where the district was at as of June 30.

“This really is just a summary of how we get to accumulate a surplus,” Black told the board.

Student trustee program update

Some changes to the school district’s student trustee program may be coming down the pipeline.

The program had its first year as a pilot project during the 2013-14 school year, with two high school students to represent Merritt and two to represent Princeton.

The board is considering running the program again this school year with two students from each end of the district, only this time, having one from Grade 11 and one Grade 12 in each town.

Trustees are also considering a staggered term of six or 12 months to make the program available to more students and to allow student trustees to train one another.

Trustee Tim Kroeker suggested inviting future trustees to functions the board is invited to rather than just monthly meetings.

Superintendent Steve McNiven suggested evaluating the election process for student trustees, as well as keeping in touch with the two other school districts in B.C. which run student trustee programs: School Districts 46 (Sunshine Coast) and 39 (Vancouver).

Trustee Leah Ward was tasked with compiling a handbook of roles and responsibilities for student trustees at the board’s meeting on Sept. 17.