The provincial government is giving funding to the Central Okanagan School District which will allow the district to purchase new school buses and perform plumbing upgrades to George Elliott Secondary.

The plumbing project is expected to last four to five months and maintenance will begin before the end of the school year, said school district secretary-treasurer, Larry Paul.

The $1.5 million in School Enhancement Program funding will upgrade the plumbing lines. Every school district will receive a portion of this year91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s $53-million investment, supporting 223 projects.

George Elliott91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ plumbing project was listed as a high priority for the district and a capital request for funding was made in the last few months, said Paul. The high school will be closed for the summer.

Students in the district will also benefit from nine 34-76 passenger school buses, which will refresh 15 per cent of the district91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s fleet and reduce maintenance on the buses, said Paul.

The district has 62 regular school buses and around 72 buses including a spare fleet and other types of buses, said Paul.

The $1.2 million in School Bus Replacement Program funding is part of a total of $9.4 million to purchase about 71 new or replacement buses in 25 districts under the program.