A total of 13 schools and properties owned by School District #27 (SD27) are up for sale across the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
In the district's South End, these include 100 Mile House Junior Secondary (and its addition) and Buffalo Creek Elementary School, a teacherage on Mahood Lake Road near Deka Lake, and an old school property in the Sharpe Lake/Tin Cup Lake area.
SD27 chair Will Van Osch notes that once these assets are sold, the money will go directly into the district's Local Capital Fund.
Then 25 per cent of that can be drawn at the board's discretion for use on capital projects, he notes, with the balance held for projects requiring Ministry of Education-Capital Branch approval.
"We can draw the interest on that and use it for operating expenses."
He explains the interest amounts to more than one might expect, depending on the rates.
"Right now they are terrible, but they have been rather lucrative in the past, and if its $3 million or $4 million, it's a fair amount of interest every year."
Even though the school is closing, the 100 Mile Junior gymnasium will be used for Peter Skene Ogden Senior Secondary physical education classes while the PSO gym is being renovated to accommodate all the Junior Secondary students in 2013-14.
However, Van Osch says ensuring the PSO gym has been completed will be taken into account in any Junior Secondary sale transaction.
"That would be a caveat that would be on it; I'm sure, that would be on it."
A school closed and sold in Williams Lake had previously fuelled that fund, he explains.
"We've depleted [much of] the reserves from Anne Stevenson Junior Secondary for the PSO, so it would be nice, and in the district's best interest, to restore those accounts and put the money aside for future projects."
The school board chair notes that while not exclusively, part of this district-wide asset sale is aimed at funding the rebuilding the aging 100 Mile House Elementary School.
"It would be very good to have the capital if, and when, the project is improved. The ministry will put in a good portion of it, but the more we have in our own accounts the more likely they are to approve a project."
The closed Seventy Mile Elementary School is not on the list because it has been turned over to the community as the Seventy Mile Access Centre (SMAC).
SD27 has not been hasty in its decision to sell properties, he says, adding some of the properties are redundant and will probably never be needed.
"I don't think we are taking it lightly. That is part of the reason you can't use them for operating funds.
"I think some districts would take everything they could and implement programs and then not be able to cover [running them]."
More information and Expressions of Interest on these properties can be submitted at the link on the website at www.sd27.bc.ca.